#this included a flight from vienna to amsterdam

[stereotypical-jew]

aghhh why are flights so expensive! i miss europe when i could fly from amsterdam to athens for less than 100 euros :( now it's gonna cost me over $500 to fly from boston to msp (a SHORTER distance btw WITHIN the same country!)

[influencermagazineuk]

Aer Lingus Cancels 120 Flights Due to Pilots' Strike Next Weekend

Aer Lingus Cancels 120 Flights Due to Pilots' Strike Next Weekend Aer Lingus has announced the cancellation of 120 flights scheduled for next weekend due to an eight-hour strike by pilots on June 29. This disruption is expected to impact approximately 15,000 customers on short-haul services. The airline's spokesperson confirmed the strike action, stating that the pilots’ union has planned a work-to-rule starting June 26, which would mean pilots would not engage in overtime or out-of-hours duties. This action alone has led to the cancellation of 124 flights, affecting about 20,000 customers over five days. The planned strike by the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) is set to take place from 5 am to 1 pm on June 29. An Aer Lingus spokesperson said, “Following Ialpa’s escalation of the industrial action by announcing an eight-hour strike by pilots on Saturday June 29, Aer Lingus has had to cancel 120 flights on that day.” The airline is retiming long-haul services on June 28 and 29 to avoid cancellations of these flights. Aer Lingus has started rebooking some customers onto alternative flights and has begun emailing others to inform them of the cancellations and their options, including changing their flight for free, requesting a refund, or obtaining a voucher. The detailed list of canceled flights on June 29 is available on the 'Travel Advisory' section of the Aer Lingus website. Flights operated by Aer Lingus Regional, run by Emerald Airlines, are not affected by Ialpa’s industrial action and will operate as scheduled. These flights are numbered between EI3000 and EI3999. Ialpa claims it was forced to escalate the dispute following what it describes as "a campaign of antagonism by Aer Lingus management." The union's president, Captain Mark Tighe, mentioned that the airline had sent "threatening" letters to association members. He emphasized the significant impact of the strike, indicating the extent to which Aer Lingus relies on the flexibility and goodwill of its pilots. Aer Lingus has condemned the strike action, expressing disappointment that Ialpa would escalate the dispute, which it believes is intended to inflict maximum disruption on passengers' travel plans. The airline describes the union's demand for a 24% pay increase as unrealistic, noting that no pay deals in Ireland have delivered such an increase. Irish Premier Simon Harris has called for a de-escalation of the dispute, urging all parties to "step back from the brink." List of Affected Flights: Flights departing Ireland: - Wednesday, June 26th: Various flights from Cork and Dublin to destinations including London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and New York. - Thursday, June 27th: Similar routes affected, including additional flights to Geneva and Vienna. - Friday, June 28th: Continued disruptions on routes to multiple European destinations and New York. - Saturday, June 29th: Extensive cancellations including flights to Dubrovnik, Lanzarote, London, and various other European cities. - Sunday, June 30th: Further cancellations on routes to London, Berlin, Brussels, and others. Flights departing the UK: - Wednesday, June 26th: Flights from Birmingham, London, and Manchester to Dublin. - Thursday, June 27th - Sunday, June 30th: Continued disruptions on similar routes. Flights departing Europe: - Wednesday, June 26th: Flights from Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, and Paris to Dublin. - Thursday, June 27th - Sunday, June 30th: Additional disruptions across various European destinations. Flights departing North America: - Wednesday, June 26th - Sunday, June 30th: New York (JFK) to Dublin. Passengers are advised to check the Aer Lingus website for the most up-to-date information and to contact the airline for assistance with rebooking or refunds. Read the full article

[switrusholidays]

Discover Europe tour package with Switrus Holidays: Your Ultimate Travel Experience

Are you dreaming of a European adventure filled with breathtaking landscapes, rich history, and vibrant cultures? Look no further than Switrus Holidays. As a premier travel agency, we specialize in creating unforgettable journeys with our Europe tour packages. Whether you're exploring ancient ruins, indulging in world-renowned cuisine, or marveling at stunning architecture, our expertly crafted itineraries ensure you experience the best Europe has to offer.

Why Choose Switrus Holidays?

At Switrus Holidays, we understand that every traveler is unique. That's why we offer a variety of European tour packages tailored to meet diverse interests and preferences. Our experienced team of travel experts works tirelessly to curate the best Europe tour packages, ensuring that your trip is not only enjoyable but also seamless and stress-free. From meticulously planned group tours to personalized itineraries, we cater to every traveler's needs.

Comprehensive Europe Tour Packages

Our Europe tour packages are designed to provide a comprehensive experience, covering all the must-see destinations and hidden gems. Whether you're a history buff, a foodie, or an adventure seeker, our packages offer something for everyone. Here are some highlights of what you can expect from our European tour packages:

Iconic Cities and Landmarks

Explore the timeless beauty of Paris, the historic charm of Rome, and the vibrant nightlife of Berlin. Our tours include visits to iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, and the Brandenburg Gate. Stroll through the picturesque streets of Amsterdam, enjoy the scenic canals of Venice, and immerse yourself in the rich cultural heritage of Vienna.

Scenic Landscapes

Europe is home to some of the most stunning natural landscapes in the world. Our tour packages take you to the breathtaking Swiss Alps, the serene lakes of Italy, and the rugged coastlines of Portugal. Experience the magic of the Northern Lights in Scandinavia or the enchanting fjords of Norway. With Switrus Holidays, you'll witness nature's wonders up close.

Culinary Delights

One of the highlights of any European tour is the food. Indulge in gourmet French cuisine, savor authentic Italian pasta and pizza, and enjoy the hearty flavors of German sausages and beer. Our packages include culinary tours and dining experiences that allow you to taste the best of Europe's diverse culinary scene.

Customizable European Tour Packages

At Switrus Holidays, we believe in creating personalized travel experiences. Our customizable European tour packages allow you to tailor your itinerary to suit your preferences. Whether you want to add more cities, extend your stay, or include special activities like wine tasting or museum tours, we can make it happen. Our goal is to ensure that your European adventure is exactly how you've envisioned it.

Hassle-Free Travel Experience

Traveling with Switrus Holidays means you can leave all the planning and logistics to us. From booking flights and accommodations to arranging local transportation and guided tours, we handle everything. Our experienced tour guides are knowledgeable and passionate about the destinations, providing you with insights and stories that make your trip even more enriching.

Customer Satisfaction

We take pride in our commitment to customer satisfaction. Our dedicated customer support team is available around the clock to assist you with any queries or concerns. We strive to exceed your expectations and ensure that your Europe tour is nothing short of perfect.

Book Your Europe Tour Package Today

Embark on a journey of a lifetime with Switrus Holidays. Discover the best of Europe with our expertly crafted tour packages and create memories that will last forever. Whether you're traveling solo, with family, or in a group, we have the perfect Europe tour package for you. Contact us today to start planning your dream European vacation.

[crystaltravelbookinguk]

A Guide to Unforgettable European Adventures with KLM Airlines

When it comes to exploring the enchanting landscapes and diverse cultures of Europe, KLM Airlines serves as your trusted wingman. Beyond the iconic windmills and tulip fields, KLM opens the door to a world of unforgettable adventures across the continent. Let's embark on a journey to discover the wonders that await you with KLM.

KLM Airlines: Your Passport to European Splendors

As you step on board KLM flights, you're not just traveling; you're beginning an odyssey through the heart of Europe. KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is renowned for its commitment to passenger comfort and a seamless travel experience.

Amsterdam: The Gateway to Europe

Start your European adventure by flying into Amsterdam, KLM's main hub. This vibrant city, crisscrossed by picturesque canals, serves as the perfect launchpad for exploring the rest of the continent. Take a leisurely stroll through the historic neighborhoods or visit world-class museums like the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum.

European Capitals at Your Fingertips

With KLM's extensive network, you have access to an array of European capitals. From the romantic allure of Paris and the architectural marvels of Rome to the cultural richness of Prague and Vienna, KLM Airlines connects you to the heart of each destination. Seamless connections and convenient schedules make exploring multiple cities a breeze.

KLM Comfort and Service

KLM Airlines prioritizes your comfort throughout your journey. With spacious seating, in-flight entertainment, and attentive cabin crew, the airline ensures that your travel experience is as enjoyable as the destinations themselves. Relax, unwind, and arrive at your European destination ready for exploration.

Seasonal Escapes and Special Offers

KLM offers a variety of seasonal escapes and special offers, allowing you to tailor your European adventure to your preferences. Whether you're chasing the Northern Lights in Scandinavia, savoring wine in the vineyards of Bordeaux, or enjoying a summer retreat along the Mediterranean, KLM provides options for every type of traveler.

FAQs: Your Guide to European Adventures with KLM Airlines

1. Can I book multi-city flights with KLM to explore multiple European destinations?

Yes, KLM offers the option to book multi-city flights, allowing you to explore multiple European destinations in one journey. Use the airline's website or contact customer service for assistance in planning your itinerary.

2. Are there direct flights from KLM to popular European cities?

KLM operates direct flights to a wide range of popular European cities, providing convenient and efficient connections. Check the airline's route map for a list of destinations and direct flight options.

3. What amenities does KLM provide on its flights for passenger comfort?

KLM prioritizes passenger comfort with amenities such as spacious seating, in-flight entertainment, and a selection of meals and beverages. Business Class passengers enjoy additional perks for a more luxurious experience.

4. Can I use KLM's frequent flyer program to earn rewards for European travel?

Yes, KLM's frequent flyer program, Flying Blue, allows passengers to earn and redeem rewards for European and global travel. Join the program to enjoy benefits such as upgrades, lounge access, and more.

5. Are there family-friendly options and services provided by KLM for European travel?

KLM offers family-friendly services, including special meals for children, entertainment options, and assistance during the journey. Families traveling with young children can enjoy a comfortable and stress-free experience with KLM Airlines.

[visamintglobal]

Traditional airport designs focus on smooth passenger transfers. However, Air India is set to revolutionize this concept. In partnership with AccessRail, an intermodal interline agreement will allow travelers to seamlessly switch from flights to trains or buses for their onward journey. A single ticket covers flights and ground transportation, with baggage allowance matching the flight. This user-friendly service will soon be available via the airline's sales channels.

This initiative extends from India to numerous European countries, covering over a hundred cities in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and the UK. The network is accessible through Air India's European gateways including Amsterdam, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan, and Vienna. This innovation is poised to redefine travel convenience and connectivity.

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

Covid in Europe (I) - various reports

          The new coronavirus variant Omicron has been detected in 13 people who arrived in the Dutch capital Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa. They are among 61 passengers who tested positive for coronavirus. It comes as tighter restrictions come into force in the Netherlands, amid record Covid cases and concerns over the new variant. This includes early closing times for hospitality and cultural venues, and limits on home gatherings.

          Swiss voters have turned out in near-record numbers for a referendum on the national COVID-19 restrictions. After an unusually tense and hostile campaign, early projections show a majority favor the current law. Under it, only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative are allowed to attend public events and gatherings. The law also provides billions of Swiss francs in aid for workers and businesses hit by the pandemic. Switzerland is the first European country to put its pandemic measures to a public vote.              France's minister for overseas territories is on his way to Martinique and Guadeloupe, following days of violent protests on the Caribbean islands. The French government has vowed a firm response to the unrest.  Local opposition to COVID-19 measures imposed by Paris, is adding to longstanding grievances over representation and living standards.

             Thousands of people protested in Austria's capital Vienna on Saturday. A day after the country's government announced strict new coronavirus restrictions -- another lockdown, and compulsory vaccination next year.              Noisy crowds, cheering, whistling and banging drums, streamed into Heroes' Square in central Vienna. Many protesters waved flags and carried signs with slogans such as "no to vaccination" and "enough is enough". "I want my freedom back," says this woman. "One would think we live in a democracy but now, this is a coronavirus dictatorship." Roughly 66% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Daily infections are still setting records there, even after a lockdown was imposed on the unvaccinated this week. That led the government to announce on Friday that Austria would go back into lockdown on Monday - vaccines will be compulsory as of February 1. "We are against the lockdown and the Austrian government policies as far as the coronavirus goes. This has been going on for two years and there is no end in sight. Something new is announced every day and we don't know what we can believe anymore. That's the situation." Many Austrians are skeptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the Freedom Party (FPO), the third-biggest in parliament. The FPO had already been planning a show of force in Vienna on Saturday when Friday's announcement fired up its base. Although party leader Herbert Kickl could not attend because he has caught COVID-19, thousands answered calls by the FPO and other vaccine-critical groups to protest across the city.

             As many governments tighten restrictions to curb surging coronavirus infections, there's growing anger from opponents of the measures. Tens of thousands have rallied across Europe. Campaigners say authorities are failing to strike the right balance between protecting public health - and upholding personal freedoms. Thousands of Austrians chanting 'resistance' marched through the streets of Vienna in reaction to the latest government measures: compulsory vaccinations and a new national lockdown. The protesters are outnumbered though - by active COVID-19 cases in Austria, which total nearly 200,000. The government says the lockdown and compulsory vaccinations are the only way to stop hospitals being overwhelmed. As winter bites in Europe, cases are surging, compelling governments to act. But also sparking more and more protests. Thousands turned out in Croatia to express their anger. Protests in the Netherlands spilled over into violence, destruction and dozens of arrests. Across Europe, frustration and fatigue are rising along with infection numbers, leaving the authorities to face the challenge of dealing with unrest in the community - on top of the pandemic.

             As infection-rates rise sharply across Europe, several countries have reimposed measures to tackle the pandemic. But the restrictions have also triggered a wave of new protests. In Brussels thousands of people have rallied against the regulations and a possible vaccine mandate. There have also been demonstrations in other European countries - including Austria, the Netherlands and Croatia. Despite these demonstrations, governments are looking at curbing the fourth wave with lockdowns and restrictions. Coronavirus cases are seemingly out of control in some countries here in Europe. But huge differences exist in infection rates across the continent. Spain and Italy, two countries hit hard at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, are coping with this latest coronavirus wave relatively well. It's a very different picture here in Germany or neighboring Austria, where a national lockdown begins on Monday. The WHO has warned Europe to act fast to avoid hundreds of thousands of coronavirus deaths.

[amphtaminedreams]

My Amateur European Travel Guide

Hi to anyone who’s reading!

I spent just over a month in Europe over the summer and have far too many good food pics that deserve more than sitting in my camera roll untouched and thus I thought I’d do my very shitty, amateurish version of a travel guide, basically a run down of my favourite things that we did in each city. From touristy shit like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum to some equally beautiful but lesser known places, getting an inter-rail pass gives you the time to see everything whilst not spending an absolute fortune. 

I went with a friend and we did the basic, first-time traveller route: Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Ljubljana, Venice, Rome and Milan. The pass, which allowed us to use domestic and international trains on 10 separate days within a month, for students only cost £230. We did then have to pay extra for the Eurostar from St.Pancras to Paris, and additional “reservation” fees to get seats on the trains in Italy and between France and The Netherlands, but all in all this didn’t cost us anymore than about £50. The flight back from Milan to Southend Airport cost £30, though be warned that it’s actually pretty hard to get from Southend to central London; if we hadn’t been able to get a lift, we probably would’ve spent an extra £30 getting home from there. 

We were away for 3 weeks and 4 days in total, and on top of the approx. £700/£800 we spent on hostels and air b&bs, I spent about £1500 whilst I was away. You could probably get away with taking about £1000 with you if you’re willing to cook while you’re away. We did a couple of nights whilst we were in air b&bs, but on the whole, we usually ate out. The hostel kitchens were a bit of a nightmare, though I’m not going to pretend it was anything other than a combination of laziness and gluttony that stopped me from cooking, lol. HOW CAN YOU GO TO ITALY AND NOT GO OUT FOR PASTA EVERY NIGHT?! It can’t be done. With my non-existent self-control anyway. 

Once I got back from inter-railing, I also then spent a week with my family staying in the cutest seaside town about half an hour outside of Barcelona, Sitges, which we’ve visited a few times before. For that reason, I thought I’d write about some of my favourite things to do in and around Barcelona, not just from this trip but from all the times we’ve visited over the last few years.

I’ll start, though, with the first place we visited on our inter-railing trip: Paris.

Paris, France

It might be because it was the first place we went and the place where I had the most energy and drive to explore, lol, but Paris was my absolute favourite of the cities we visited. I know a lot of people seem to be disappointed with it but there’s just so much to do and so much culture; gorgeous architecture, art, fashion, food, I feel that it lives up to its reputation in every way if you really utilise your time there properly. The public transport is easy to understand and use and my only gripe with the hostel is that it was a little far out. This didn’t really limit us in any way though, so it didn’t bother me. 

The Hostel

Our first hostel, Jo&Joe’s in Gentilly, was a really cool place. I believe it was around £30 a night (one of the more expensive hostels we stayed in) to stay in a room like the one I've included a photo of. The beds were comfy and you had a decent amount of space, and the wi-fi was good. My only issue is that there wasn’t much privacy in terms of the bathroom; there was one toilet room and one shower room in the actual bedroom to be shared between the 6 of us. There didn’t really seem to be much about in Gentilly but to be honest, we didn’t venture very far and there’s more than enough to do in central Paris.

Paris Top Things to do:

1. Palais de Tokyo

Probably my favourite art museum we visited our entire trip, Palais de Tokyo was...an experience. 

Costing £8 for a student ticket, almost every piece of artwork in there was strange as hell. That being said, it was all very immersive and interactive and like nothing I’d seen before which is why I liked it so much. 

Well, apart from the dirty sock. Literally. There was a dirty sock on display. Art, right? 

2. Musee D’Orsay

I’d say if you only had time to do one of the “big” art museums in Paris, do Musee D’Orsay, not the Louvre.

 It’s a lot more compact and has a wider range of styles, plus a lot more modern art, including some Van Gogh and several Degas. I had so many favourite pieces from Louise Abbema’s Allegories of Spring and Winter, to Thomas Couture’s Romans in their Decadence:

Plus I’d take Amaury Duval’s portrait of Marie-Anne Detourbay over the Mona Lisa any day. The staring into your soul game she’s got going on is unparalleled.

3. Eiffel Tower 

I think the level of dumbassery involved in my decision to wear heeled boots to make the 500 or so step journey up the Eiffel Tower cancels out any smarts that went into us saving €3 by booking in advance and walking instead of getting the lift, but it’s all about the experience, lol, and I would do it again for the view. It only cost €5 in total and by booking online about a month before, we didn’t have to wait in what is usually about a 3 hour queue if you turn up on the day.

4. Yves Saint Laurent Museum

It only took us about an hour to do the Yves Saint Laurent museum but it was definitely worth the £10 for entry if you are interested in fashion. It was pretty quiet when we went which I liked as it made for a much more peaceful experience than say, the Louvre, and the museum is very well laid out. There’s a load of original pieces in there and I feel like I learned a lot about Saint Laurent himself too. I also learned that I am very unsophisticated (I really didn’t feel posh enough to be walking into the building, lol) but we been knew.

5. Sacre Couer 

Warning: The Sacre Couer is a very steep walk from the nearest tube station. I internally died. Several times. But it’s very beautiful once you get up there.

6. Monmarte

I wish we’d had more time to explore Monmarte as it was one of the prettiest places I saw on our trip, with so many cute restaurants and cafes. Top things to see in the area are the Wall of Love and though we didn’t actually go there, Montmarte Cemetery too. I found out when we got back that the latter is supposedly inhabited by a load of stray cats and now I am severely disappointed that we didn’t have a look. I guess I’ll just have to go back! You know, just to check if it’s true about the cats. And also eat some more of the food, ofc.

7. Vintage Shopping

We had a quick look in two of the vintage shops whilst we were in Paris, Kilo Shop and Tilt Vintage, and I saw a lot of really cool things. Unfortunately, because I couldn’t really fit anything else in my backpack and was being pretty tight with money at that point in the trip (an attitude my bank balance probably wishes had been sustained throughout, lol), I didn’t get anything. Still, I’d definitely recommend checking the shops I mentioned and the other vintage shops in that area out if you are interested in buying some clothes whilst you’re away. The only thing I’d say is to avoid them if you have trouble with crowds and/or small spaces as there were a shit tonne of people in pretty much all the ones we went in and because of the layout, not much room to move. And protip: if you like breathing non-body odour tinted oxygen, don’t venture in any of them in the middle of heatwave. Not fun. 

8. Champs Elysees 

I think it’s kind of a given that you see the Champs Elysees whilst you’re in Paris, but last time I was there, I only really saw it from an open top bus and was quiet underwhelmed. On this trip, we walked from the Louvre through the Tuileries and then slowly made our way down towards the Arc de Triomphe, having a look down the streets that run perpendicular to the Champs Elysees on our way, which were all very typically Parisienne. At the bottom, you have Aventue Montaigne which has all the fancy, designer flagship stores, and then down Avenue FDR (where we went for lunch) there are plenty of places to stop and have a bite to eat. I thought I’d been all French getting a baguette from down here before realising it was from a glorified Paul which we have all over London, BUT, if you’re into açai bowls, my friend had a really good one at a place called Cojean.

9. Versailles

Before we went to Versailles, a lot of people told me that it was really crowded and not worth going to but I couldn’t disagree more. It was so beautiful both on the inside and out and there’s so much to learn! I’ve always been fascinated by Marie Antoinette so I might be slightly biased but I was totally in my ex-historical nerd element. I would definitely recommend arriving as early as possible if you’re not paying for skip the line tickets, since we got there for around 10 and had to stand in a very long queue to get in. It did move quickly but looked very daunting at first and I imagine it only gets worse as the day goes on.

10. Disneyland Paris

I mean, we didn’t got there this time and technically, it’s not Paris. But come on, it’s Disney. I couldn’t leave it off the list.

Future Paris Bucket List:

Moulin Rouge

Musee d’Orangerie

Jardin du Luxembourg

Louvre Highlights Tour

Louis Vuitton Foundation

Paris Museum of Modern Art

Get dinner in Trocadero

Centre Pompidou

Paris Catacombs

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam is one of my favourite places ever. It’s picturesque, easy to find your way around, and full of amazing food. It was my second time here and my friend’s third so we had a pretty chilled out time but still did a lot. I definitely wouldn’t say no to going back again.

The Hostel

The hostel we stayed in in Amsterdam was called ClinkNoord and was a short (and free!) boat ride away from the city centre. Also at around £30 a night, the rooms were basic yet comfortable and the place as a whole had a modern, utilitarian vibe to it which I really liked. The bathrooms were a short walk down the hall, a more private alternative to the bathrooms in our Paris hostel, and were pretty much always free. As for the showers, they were a wet room kinda situation and a little bit grim at times but as long as you bring flip flops (I didn’t, another example of dumbassery, lol) you’ll be fine. Maybe this is the 10 year old in me leaping out but I really loved the bar area at this hostel too: drinks were cheap, but more importantly, it had table football, pool, AND a ping-pong room. WITH A BLACK LIGHT MIGHT I ADD!

Amsterdam Top Things to do:

1. Electric Ladyland

The edibles had already began to kick in a little bit by the time we got to Electric Ladyland so this might be a bit of an overstatement but this place was, in a good way of course, very trippy. It’s basically a mini fluorescent art museum and exhibition in this guy’s basement (not as weird as it sounds, lol), and for £5 you can go in and see it and then, if you hang around, watch him give a demonstration on how it all works and where he sourced his paint from. It says on the website that it’s by appointment only but we just turned up on the day just as a slot was about to start and were allowed in. In terms of taking an edible before you go in, maybe don’t, lol. It was a bit of a surreal experience; in a very dark room, listening to an old American hippy talk about how he explored caves in Utah to find mineral rocks, the weed-induced paranoia low-key kicked in. I did, at points, momentarily forget that there was a room around the point I was immediately focussed on and started panicking that we were just drifting through space. And then there was the occasional fear that I was trapped in some kind of eternal time loop where the man would just keep on talking in circles and I would be stuck down there forever, not wanting to be rude and leave whilst he was mid-sentence, as part of the universe’s karmic punishment for my impractical level of politeness and need to people-please. Climbing the ladder up out of the basement was...a little tricky, to say the least.

2. Pancake House

You have to have pancakes in Amsterdam and my friend recommended this place as the original one. I had a pancake with ice cream, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce and whilst a little sickly, it was tasty af. If I went again, I think I’d just stick to one sauce; it was so sweet that I had to admit defeat about halfway, something I do not look back on with pride. Next time, I will be victorious over one of these beasts of a pancake. Speaking it into existence.

3. Hire a bike and visit Vondelpark

There are plenty of ways to get about in Amsterdam and the trams are super easy to use but hiring a bike for the time you’re there is probably the cheapest and most Amsterdammy (I know, not really a word) way to get around. We hired our bikes from Starbikes by the central station and it was a very simple and affordable process which I would definitely recommend; their shop has some of the best reviews on Trip Advisor for bike hire. Riding along the canals is quite chilled but if you’re not super confident, the best place to go is probably Vondelpark, as it has wider lanes with the added bonus of not living in semi-permanent fear of being yeeted off your bike into the canal by a car coming up behind you. It also has friendly ducks! How can you say no to that? I mean, ignoring the fact that male ducks have like, 9 inch corkscrew penises which apparently spin when they mate. Thank Reddit for that life-altering and mildly disturbing piece of information.

4. Mannekin chips

The BEST Belgian fries which I spent the entirety of the rest of our trip craving. Best sauce combination is ketchup and samurai sauce, and I recommend going for a regular portion. The large is insane and I am very much in awe of anybody who can finish it.

5. Van Gogh Museum

We didn’t actually visit the Van Gogh museum on this trip but I went on my first visit to Amsterdam and you really can’t miss it. Not only does it have a lot of Van Gogh’s most famous works, including sunflowers, it has a lot of the work of the artists who inspired him as well as pieces from some of his contemporaries. 

7. Stedelijk

Really cool modern art museum with an interactive room where you can take part in activities relating to the current exhibition too. Though I guess it really depends on your art preferences, if you do only have time to do either this or The Rijksmuseum, I would definitely say Stedelijk. 

8. The Rookies Coffeeshop

So I can’t say I’ve tried a lot of the coffee shops in Amsterdam as on our first visit we only really went to this one and The Bulldog chain, and this time we didn’t go as much, but they do the best space cakes. They’re genuinely really tasty but they can be quite intense if you haven’t smoked in a while or don’t do so regularly so make sure you’re in somewhere you feel safe and have other people with you.

9. Amsterdam Dungeons

Though the Amsterdam Dungeons were more similar to the London Dungeons than I thought they would be, with less of a focus on the dark history of the area and more on general dark European history such as the Spanish Inquisition and witch trials which also came up a lot in the London run through, I would still thoroughly recommend them. The Dungeons are definitely a tourist trap but they’re also just hilarious and you genuinely do learn a little, so I think worth the money!

10. The Blonds Cafe

I wasn’t crazy about the menu here as I’m a ridiculously fussy eater but I think most people will easily find something they like, and the actual cafe and presentation is really cute. The grilled cheese sandwich I ended up having was really good and even if you end up just having a cake, I’d recommend it. They had lemon AND mint infused water dispensers, which, now I’m writing down doesn’t seem very exciting at all, but I got hyped up, okay? And worst case scenario, it’s not for you, there are loads of other cool and very hipster-y looking (lol) independent cafes in the area. 

11. Anne Frank House

Again, this was something I did on my first trip to Amsterdam, but you can’t miss it. From a history standpoint and as someone who read Anne Frank’s diary several times when I was younger, I found it very surreal to actually visit the house I’d heard so much about. You definitely get a sense of just how stifling and claustrophobic living in that annex was and even if you’re not into your history, I do think a lot of insight can be gained from taking a trip here! 

12. Go to one of the Pastry Shops

If you go to Amsterdam, you’ll see them everywhere, the little slightly shabby-looking cafes with all the amazing waffles and donuts and crepes and cupcakes in the window. Go to one! I had a waffle covered in white chocolate and Oreos and it was 1000% as good as it looked. 

13. Moco Museum

The last thing on my Amsterdam list and another thing we did on my first trip, the Moco Museum is one of my favourites I’ve ever been to. It’s pretty small and doesn’t take you that long to look around but it’s full of contemporary, provocative art based around the theme of political and social commentary. Given that description, it’s probably no surprise that it houses a lot of Banksy, but there’s also a fair bit of pop art too, and a very cool gift shop. Because I can never resist a good gift shop.

Future Amsterdam Bucket List:

A day trip to the tulip fields

De Poezenboot

Eye Film Museum 

Swing at A’dam lookout

Canal Cruise

Berlin, Germany

Berlin definitely wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. As a capital city, I expected it to be this very built up, bustling, commercial place, but it was actually pretty quiet and very spread out. In a way, it almost seemed a bit left behind and completely deserted in parts. That being said, from a historical point of view, it was probably the most interesting place that we went. It’s easy to forget that just a few decades ago the city was completely divided and you can definitely sense that it’s still rebuilding itself.

The Hostel

We stayed in a hostel that was tucked away in the basement of the Aletto hotel, just a minute’s walk away from the Zoologischer Garden station. I believe it was around £20 a night for an 8 person mixed dorm. The beds weren’t the comfiest and the room itself was a bit dark and dank, given that it was below street level, but all in all, the hostel was decent as a stop-off point. I liked that there was a kind of a small communal area in the kitchen and the bathrooms were spacious and clean, and fortunately, it was pretty quiet when we were there so we usually had them to ourselves. 

Berlin Top Things to do:

1. Never Ending Love Story

A really lovely little cafe in a pretty, quiet area, the service here was exceptionally good! I’m not one to complain when workers don’t seem overly enthusiastic, I work in retail so I get that you sometimes can’t be arsed with all the over-the-top politeness, but I do appreciate friendliness and the waitress here was so sweet. I had delicious scrambled eggs on sourdough toast and my friend had pancakes and we both really enjoyed our food. 

2. East Side Gallery

I wish I had more to say about the East Side Gallery, but to be honest I was pretty drunk and had half an edible-I thought we were going out out after, don’t judge me-so I can’t remember much. Judging from my very shitty and my friend’s very good (this is one of hers, lol) photos though, it was really interesting. Good street art is up there with the best of them imo and given the context of the gallery, it’s no surprise that a lot of the art is politically charged, which just adds an extra layer of appeal to it. There’s also a lot of good photo ops, or so drunk me clearly thought. 

3. Topography of Terror

Built on top of the former SS Reich Main Security Office, the Topography of Terror is a museum I’d say you need to set aside at least 2 and a half/3 hours for to properly do. There’s so much information to get through and I’d say I ended up skimming half of it towards the end because we were short on time; I later found out that there’s even more to see outside which we didn’t even touch. 

4. Jewish Museum

Unfortunately, a lot of the Jewish Museum was closed when we went but it’s still a very physically impressive building with exhibitions that are equal parts daunting and thought-provoking, relating to both the Jewish experience during the Second World War and Jewish culture in general.

5. Museum Island

We didn’t actually go in any of the museums on Museum Island but we walked around and sat at a nice little green spot nearby; t’s very pretty to explore, especially as the sun is going down. There were plenty of bars around and people drinking, sunbathing and listening to music by the river. Generally a really relaxed vibe.

6. Fritzies 

I know dirty fries aren’t the classiest thing ever but the ones from this place tasted really fucking good. How can you go wrong with a fast food restaurant dedicated to chips?

7. The History: Brandenberg Gate, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler’s Bunker, Jewish Memorial

Most of these places are within walking distance of each other and we did them all within a couple of hours. Like I said, the best thing about Berlin is the history so I think making an effort to see all these things is really important. On our last night we managed to find out, via a nearby poster, about a free show on the river (with English subtitles obviously; as the basic monolingual bitch I am, anything other than dankeschön and hallo went right over my head) which covered major points in the history of the Reichstag over the last century; it was the perfect way to round off our trip.

8. KW Institute for Contemporary Art

This museum was half the overly pretentious contemporary art that makes classicists roll their eyes:

-though I do actually like it, sue me-

And half the simple, but millennially-inspired kinda stuff that I love. Like, that top collection got me feeling like the new Van Gogh every time I accidentally screenshot my home screen. 

So obviously, I rated it. And side-note, the building in general, which had an old, unused warehouse kinda thing going on, along with a shady little courtyard outside, was very cool.

9. Pizza Nostra

Look at this photo. Do I need to say any more?

Future Berlin Bucket List:

Historical River Cruise

Return to the Jewish Museum

The Story of Berlin Museum

Berghain (even just to see it from the outside)

About Blank, Suicide Circus, i.e one of the tamer, more mainstream clubs

Anne Frank Zentrum

Hackescher Hof

Oranienburger Strasse and Kunsthaus Tacheles

Prague, Czech Republic

I absolutely adored Prague. From the second I stepped out of the metro station into Old Town Square on our first evening, I felt like I was walking into a fairytale. All the buildings were so ornate and beautiful, everywhere you look is like a postcard. There’s so much history there which we only really had time to scrape the surface of and I can’t wait to go back.

The Hostel

We stayed at Hostel Dakura which was only around £15 a night and a few metro stops from the city centre. As you can see, it’s a little outdated but all in all, still clean and comfortable. The dorm and bathrooms were very spacious and there was an outdoor seating area with benches and ping-pong too. I’d definitely say it was good value for money.

Prague Top Things to do:

1. Explore Old Town

The Old Town part of Prague is definitely the main attraction, from the cute and very typically European seating areas outside the restaurants, to the Trdelnik shops, to the gothic statues, and the colourful buildings that surround them; you'll feel like you’re walking through a mix between a shopping mall and a medieval time capsule. There’s not really all that much point me putting Old Town on the must-do list as it’s pretty much unavoidable but I liked it so much I just couldn’t leave it out. I really haven’t been anywhere like it before. It’s part Westeros, part Fantasyland at Disney (with some stag dos thrown in), and that’s saying something; Disney World comparisons do not come easy from me.

2. Letna Hill

A bit of a steep walk uphill but totally worth it for the view of the city.  Lots of cool bars and places to get cheap beer and cider too, if that’s your kinda thing. Spirits, to my dismay, are pretty much the same price as they are back home. Not that it was on Letna Hill but I paid €20 for 2 doubles one night. €20. PRAGUE IS CHEAP FOR ALCOHOL, THEY SAID. YOU CAN GET PISSED FOR A TENNER, THEY SAID. IT’LL BE FUN, THEY SAID. Sigh.

PROTIP: Make sure you have cash on you, especially if you’re heading up Letna Hill, as they don’t take card at any of the bars and there aren’t any cash machines. There also aren’t any water fountains and the tap water isn’t drinkable, apparently. You know what there are, though? Rats. 

I’m going to stop before I put anyone off. Our experience wasn’t the best but done right, I think you could have a really chilled evening here. Go to Letna Hill. It’s lovely.

3. Prague Castle

Also a bit of an uphill walk, Prague Castle is a gothic dream with live music, tantalising food stalls (hehe, tantalising, somebody hire me to write their cookbook ASAP) and insane views. Half the time I felt like I was in King’s Landing and the other half Hogwarts, and that is the kind of 50/50 split I live for. 

4. Walk across Charles Bridge and walk alongside the Vltava River

I thought our day peaked when I came to the realisation, whilst crossing the Charles Bridge, that we were in fact surrounded by vaguely religious and mildly creepy Jesus-looking statues but then we reached the other side and soon after, became one with nature. We saw ducks! Otters. Swans. Inject that wholesome shit into my veins. 

Also, a pigeon landed on me! That’s right, if you stand there with your arm out for long enough whilst walking alongside the Vltava River, you too can experience the fleeting terror that comes with the possibility of being pooed on but then the earth-shattering realisation that comes after: that pigeons, maybe, aren’t so bad after all. That they’re actually kinda cute in their own weird, scavenging way! That maybe the pigeon lady in Mary Poppins made some points! I mean, can’t we all relate to wanting to steal other people’s food? I definitely can. Consider me a changed woman.

5. GOAP Museum

Though I’m not much of a Salvador Dali fan and I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the “artwork” in this museum was actually just prints from google blown up on A2 photo paper, I thoroughly enjoyed the Alphonse Mucha and Andy Warhol sections of the GOAP. 

-Untitled Salvador Dali-

The former is one of my absolute favourite artists so I definitely had to take a moment when I walked in and saw that not only did they have several of his original lithographs, but also a whole wall dedicated to him. I wish I had good photos but the lighting was a bit too artificial to really do it justice. The lithographs came out pretty well though:

Obviously Andy Warhol is an icon too; his exhibition in particular was hugely informative and well laid out, definitely a people pleaser. I couldn’t find all too much online but it seems like the exhibitions mentioned are permanent, so definitely go and check them out. 

I also feel the need to mention that it was here I ascended to an elite level of art hoe by buying a Mucha lighter. Jokes on me because it doesn’t work very well, like...at all in anything windier than a very, very mild breeze, BUT it looks pretty, so points for that. 

6. Cafe Chloe

Seeing the size of the queue outside Elan Cafe in London, it kinda blew my mind that considering its flower wall, you could just walk into Cafe Chloe and get a table straight away. Obviously the flower wall is a draw for Instagram purposes (yes, I’m a shallow human being, *insert Ariana Grande “and what about it?” gif here*) but the food was really good too. The perfect place to stop off for brunch. 

7. Pedalos

Again, the pedalos under Charles Bridge are kind of a tourist trap but it was only around €12 between us to rent one for the hour; most of them appeared to be 4 seaters so you could get 2 more people in there and split the price again, making it even cheaper. Plus, it was really fun and we got to go right up to the ducks! 

8. Karlovy Lazne

I’m not gonna lie, tackiness aside, I love a club with multiple rooms and this one had FIVE. There were a lot of English people in there and it did cost about 12 euros in cash to get in (take the cash out in advance as the machine outside charged quite a steep fee), but they played ABBA on more than one occasion so I have zero regrets. I mean, apart from drinking maybe a bit too much once again, but that’s kind of a given at this point. I can only apologise to my liver and what’s left of my dignity.

9. Joy Burger

NGL, the service here wasn’t the best and I kind of felt like I was annoying some of the staff literally just by trying to order my food BUT to be fair, I’d probably be annoyed by me too considering my upholding of the British tradition of asking everywhere if they speak English and hoping for the best rather than actually learning the native language. Anyway, back to the point: look at this burger. Fit. 10/10 would demolish again.

Future Prague Bucket List:

Museum Kampa

Petrin Hill

One of the free city walking tours

Pub crawl

Vienna, Austria

Honestly, of all the places we went to, Vienna was the one I was most pleasantly surprised by. Before going, I’d heard that there wasn’t much to do there and I thought that 24 hours would be more than enough to see the main attractions, but aside from Paris, it’s probably the city I want to revisit most. On every other block there seemed to be some kind of beautiful flower garden or sprawling palace or stately home or elegant cafe, but at the same time, it still had a very modern feel to it. A lot like Paris but more compact, and with a slightly Germanic twist. Plus, I had one of the best Maccies of my life here, so I really can’t complain.

The Hostel

For around £18 for the night we stayed in a 6 person dorm at the Wombats Hostel by Naschmarkt. Because we weren’t there too long, I didn’t get all that much of a feel for it but the communal areas and bar seemed very cool and the central part of the city was in walking distance. The dorms were a little small and outdated and we did get woken up by a fire alarm in the middle of the night but it gave me a kind of primary school trip type nostalgia so I didn’t mind too much. I’d probably look for another hostel if I went back to Vienna just because I think if you were staying for a while, you'd start to feel a bit cooped up in the room. For the one night, however, it was ideal.

Vienna Top Things to do:

1. Museum Quartier

We really only walked through Museum Quartier but there seemed to be loads going on and definitely lots to look at. There’s also a giant astroturf covered waterbed which sounds kinda wack but was actually super fun when I wasn’t fearing my head was going to be squashed like a watermelon by the kids quite literally throwing themselves around on it. So yeah! Check it out!

2. The Traffic Lights

It sounds silly but the traffic lights in the central part of Vienna are super cute. Have a stroll around and see how many of them you can spot. Berlin’s Ampelmann wishes. 

3. Belvedere Palace Grounds

Boujie. 

4. Schonbrunn Palace Grounds

Even boujier.

5. Volksgarten

I really felt like I was walking through the Red Queen’s gardens. Minus the crochet and threat of decapitation of course.

6. Max and Benito

SO GOOD. And a really funky seating area outside too. Probably best for a quick lunch and I also imagine would make great drunk food if you need an excuse to day drink. 

Future Vienna Bucket List:

Natural History Museum of Vienna

Wien Museum

Leopold Museum

Belvedere Museum of Contemporary Art

Cafe hopping

Further explore MuseumQuartier 

Naschmarkt

Budapest, Hungary

It might be an unpopular opinion but I didn’t adore Budapest as a city. To be honest, my expectations were probably slightly too high as I’d heard so many people rave about it. I can see why people like it so much: there’s loads of great places to eat, drinks are cheap, and ruin bars are very cool. My issue was just that I thought there’d be more to do in terms of daytime activities. The one art museum we went to was completely deserted and there didn’t seem to be as many historical places to explore as in some of the other cities we visited. Of course it’s all a matter of personal preference and I might have just not done enough research/planned enough, plus that’s still not to say I didn’t have a good time. We had some lovely chilled out days and the city kind of comes alive in a different way in the evening; the boat party we went to was by far the best night out we had throughout our trip and I had some insanely delicious food. We also hired an Air B&B here for about half the price of some of the hostels we stayed in, and so got to actually settle down and spread our stuff out for a few days; something that was much needed after living out of lockers for 2 weeks.

Budapest Top Things to do:

1. Mr.Funk’s

Look at this bad boy and tell me you don’t want to go to Mr.Funk’s and try one of their freakshakes. Tell me that freakshakes being banned in the UK wasn’t a devastating miscarriage of justice and an attack on my human rights. Tell me that I’m not a failure for leaving a donut behind. Pls. Validate me. 

2. Street Food Karavan

Street Food Karavan is such a cool little spot with so many delicious looking food stalls, I honestly could’ve eaten there for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Plus loads of vegan and veggie options too.

3. Boat Party

I believe we booked our night through budapestboatparty.com and honestly it was so fun and such good value for money. It may have partly been down to the alcohol and the edible I had before, lol, but everything felt so surreal; I spent 90% of the event just being amazed by how beautiful our surroundings were and the combination of the breeze and the scenery and the music made for the absolute best atmosphere. Everyone we spoke to was so friendly and if I went back I’d love to do it again, maybe slightly more sober (unlikely) so I can take even more of it in. That being said, bear in mind that these kind of things can probably be a bit hit or miss. The friend that recommended the boat party told me that she spent the first half of the event avoiding being hit on by men twice her age, so clearly it depends a lot on the company, lol!

4. Kiosk

We didn’t actually have proper meals at Kiosk but we did find some deck chairs to sit on whilst we ate ice cream from one of the stalls they were running outside. The restaurant itself was inside but the outdoor seating had a stunning view of the sunset and the river and the area in general was really buzzing. 

5. Shoes on the Danube

It’s a simple monument but the story behind the Shoes on the Danube makes it one of the most important things to see in Budapest.

6. Szechenyi Baths

Before we actually went into the baths, I was a bit grossed out. Like, it sounded great in theory but then we got there and I realised we were about to step into what is essentially a steaming pit of bodily fluids. BUT, put that minute, mildly repugnant detail aside and you’ll have a brilliant time. Start with the whirlpool in the outdoor area and by the time you’ve done that, you’ll be feeling wild enough to bath and sauna hop to your heart’s desire. Unless you are a real, compulsive germaphobe, pissing yourself at the sight of little kids and adults alike getting uncontrollably whisked around like a bunch of sweaty egg yolks is enough to make you put any (don’t get me wrong, warranted) hygiene concerns to one side. You can shower when you’re dead. That’s what they say, right?

7. Margaret Island 

I think we had one of our most relaxed afternoons at Magaret Island, lying out on the grass by the dancing fountains; it’s definitely a great place to sunbathe, read, or grab a cheap alcoholic drink. There’s options for if you’re feeling more adventurous too: on our second visit there, we paid €10 between us to hire a pedal car for the hour and decided to cycle round the island. It was by the grace of god (or for the most part my friend’s very necessary backseat driving) that there was only one casualty of my steering. Angry Hungarian man, if you’re out there, I’m very sorry our pedal car almost knocked you off your bike. My bad. But yeah, my catastrophic attempt at doing the bare minimum physical activity aside, go and chill on Margaret Island. It’s super pretty.

8. Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion

Just a heads up that we paid around €4 or €5 each to go up to the top of Castle Hill with one of the companies giving out flyers at the bottom, so have a look and see if you can find a better deal before paying to ride the funicular. Once we did get up there we could hop on and off, and the ticket included a ride down as well. In terms of what to expect when you get up there, spectacular views. Though I found the castle itself a bit disappointing, Fisherman’s Bastion was really beautiful and had some great photo spots. If I went back to Budapest, I’d probably spend more time in the area as I think that’s where a lot of the history actually is.

9. Szimpla Kert

Probably the most famous ruin bar in Budapest, I really loved Szimpla Kert. It was a bit chaotic and very crowded but the eccentric interiors and open air courtyard gave it an almost magical feel that only a tiny number of bars I’ve been to have anything on. Vaulty Towers and Bar Elba in Waterloo I’m looking at you. Missing you and your overpriced drinks always xoxo

10. House of Terror

The House of Terror was my only real history fix whilst we were in Budapest and I found it really interesting. In particular, I liked how all the visitors took sheets of information in each room to read in our own time rather than us all trying to crowd round one sign. The basement part of the museum is presumably the main draw, and I understand why given how unnerving it is, but I enjoyed the whole museum. Obviously there are things you have to take with a pinch of salt and (our Air B&B host warned in our welcome package that it was slightly biased; I couldn’t find much about public opinion of the museum online so if by the slim chance somebody who knows more is reading this please let me know! Educate me!), but at the same time, if just for walking through the site of the past atrocities, there is definitely something to be gleaned by visiting.

11. Parliament Building

There was really no need for the Hungarian Parliamentary building to step on Westminter’s neck like that but...I guess she did what she had to do.

12. Ludwig Museum

Like I mentioned, this museum was pretty deserted but they did have some cool contemporary art and in particular an exhibition dedicated to the fashion designer Kiraly Tamas which I really enjoyed. His are the pieces in the photo above!

13. Donut Library

Oreo donuts. Need I say more?

14. La Fabbrica 

A very boujie but surprisingly affordable Italian restaurant right opposite St.Stephen’s basilica (pictured), I had one of the many top tier spag bols on this trip here. The toilets are also stylish af and made me feel very much like a peasant so maybe wear something nice so you can get those good good HQ bathroom mirror pics. I was certainly not in any shape to do so. Those toilets were really wasted on my scruffy ass that day. 

Future Budapest Bucket List:

The Hungarian National Gallery

Műcsarnok

Museum of Fine Arts

Budapest History Museum

Hungarian State Opera House

Flippermúzeum

Instant

Great Synagogue 

Memento Park

Secret Walking Tour

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Though we mainly went to Ljubljana so that we could visit Lake Bled, it was still a very cute little area. Pretty small for a capital city but there were loads of day trips out from the centre and for the evenings, a whole range of lively bars and restaurants along the river. 

The Hostel

We stayed at Hostel Kva right in the city centre and paid around €20 a night. The hostel itself was lovely and kind of felt like more of a young people’s B&B than hostel; the communal area in particular had a very cosy, personal feel to it and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. That being said, the actual rooms were very small and I did feel pretty cramped whilst we were there, more so than in any of the other hostels we stayed at. 

Ljubljana Top Things to do:

1. Meselkova Mesa

About a 15 minute walk from the city centre, Meselkova Mesa is a very interesting place. I'm not going to lie, I did feel a little on edge whilst we were there, lol; it was pretty deserted apart from a couple of men having a very loud argument. Nevertheless, there’s some very cool buildings and street art so if you’re in a group, check it out.

2. Lake Bled

Our day trip to Lake Bled, a half hour coach journey from Ljubljana Station for IIRC €8 return, was one of my favourite things we did whilst inter-railing. Not only is it absolutely magnificent to look at but there’s so much to do that I feel like you could have your whole holiday there if you wanted to. Assault courses, hikes, swimming, water sports, rowing, tobogganing, chilling on the (yes, artificial) sand, whether you want to relax or thrill-seek, you’re going to have plenty to do.

3. Puffy

These mini pancakes were so good that I didn’t even notice the chocolate sauce was Nutella and that’s saying something because WHY DO THEY PUT IT ON EVERYTHING IN MAINLAND EUROPE!? PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE NUTELLA HAVE RIGHTS TOO!

4. Pop’s Place

The best burger of the entire trip, hands down, and the whole menu looked delicious. Would I fly to Ljubljana just to have another one? Probs. 

5. Tivoli Park

A great place to sit down and read a book or go on a bike ride, or alternatively, if you’re me, awkwardly hide from a bunch of people from your hostel you irrationally believed were judging you earlier that day in the bathrooms.

6. Castle Walk

The uphill walk did kill me a little but I am mildly asthmatic so let’s put it down to that. Nothing to do with the fact I haven’t been to the gym in a year. Nothing at all. Anyways, the view was very pretty and though we didn’t go inside the castle, there’s apparently an escape room in there as well as a museum, a restaurant and a jazz club so definitely worth the minor hike.

7. Flower Market

If you go to the square where the food market is, by Dragon Bridge, you’ll find endless stalls of some of the most beautifully arranged flowers I’ve ever seen. It might be a seasonal thing, I’m not sure, but if you’re there in the summer, I’d recommend seeking the market out. They’re a very reasonable price and yes, I did specifically buy a sunflower for a photo op for 50 cent, guilty as charged. When vanity is that cheap I really can’t resist, lol.

8. Illusions Museum

I would definitely recommend going with at least one other person to get the most out of the Illusions Museum and €10 is pretty pricey but if you want to get a cheesy oh-look-I’m-standing-on-the-ceiling photo, here is your best bet.

9. Grefino Frozen Yogurt

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t actually like frozen yogurt myself but I can appreciate good food when I see it and my friend’s portion looked FIT. Plus, I always get excited when anything’s make your own; there will always be a part of me that feels incomplete without regular trips to Pizza Hut to overdo it with the ice cream factory (which this is basically a frozen yogurt, grown up version of). Miss you always. 

Future Ljubljana Bucket List:

Escape Castle

Ljubljana Castle guided tour

Tobogganing at Lake Bled

Row to the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria at Lake Bled

Škocjan Caves

MSUM

Venice, Italy

Everywhere you look in Venice is picture perfect. It literally looked exactly how it did in all the photos I’d seen beforehand. There’s so much to do and so many amazing looking places to eat, I could easily spend a relaxed week here. Emphasis on the relaxed because getting around does involve a lot of walking and a surprising amount of stairs, and we had to pack as much as we could into the short amount of time that we had. By the end of our first day in Venice alone, the word exhausted had a whole new meaning. In terms of public transport, there’s only really the boat system, and that’s a steep €18 for a day ticket. Probably partly due to my moaning, we did end up getting one of these on our last day, but that meant that we also got to go to the islands of Murano and Burano which are included. I definitely wouldn’t say no to going back but it’s quite an overwhelming space: a bit disorientating, crowded, and very expensive! You’d have to give me a few years, lol!

The Hostel

Whilst in Venice we stayed at the Wombats Hostel in Mestre, for around £13 a night. We were lucky in that it had only opened the week before (they were actually celebrating its opening at the Wombats in Naschmarkt when we were there!), and so it was super cheap. I imagine by now the price would’ve increased as it was a lovely hostel. Being new there were obviously some teething problems: queues on the front desk were pretty long, the free drinks vouchers given out had mistakes in that you couldn’t redeem them for one of the drinks that was listed, the kitchens were apparently very overcrowded with 2 faulty hobs between about 50 people, and our room as well as the bathroom in the lobby frequently ran out of toilet paper. Other than that, the dorms were the most spacious, modern and breathable of all the hostels we stayed in and the bar and communal areas were great. The only thing to bear in mind is that you do have to get a train into the main island of Venice, but it’s only about €3 for a return and it’s a short journey. 

Venice Top Things to do:

1. Peggy Guggenheim

A really beautiful museum and garden right on the waterfront, there were all kinds of modern and contemporary art and even a piece (pictured above) by Jenny Holzer who is one of my favourite contemporary artists! I definitely fangirled a little! Some other standouts were by Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Max Ernst, Joan Mitchell and Willem de Kooning which I’m going to offload here to free up some space on my camera roll, lol:

Composition by Joan Mitchell (1962)

Silver Bedhead by Alexander Calder (1945-1946)

Untitled by Willem de Kooning (1958)

Circumcision by Max Ernst (1946)

2. Liberia Acqua Alta

An eclectic little bookshop tucked away down some Venetian side street with tower upon tower of some of the most random combinations of books I’ve ever seen, my favourite thing about Liberia Acqua Alta was the cat chilling behind the counter. It’s shameful the vigour with which the crazy cat lady in me jumped out but I actually did start tearing up at the sight of it. I hadn’t seen a cat in 3 WEEKS! I missed my babies okay:(

3. Takeaway Pizza 

There’s loads of fresh takeaway pizza places around Venice but this particular slice was from a place called Farini. I think there might be more than one of them, and to be honest, when there’s pizza that delicious looking in the window, it would be a crime not to at least seek one out.

4. St.Mark’s Square and Basilica and Bridge of Sighs

It might be a huge tourist trap but you really can’t miss St.Mark’s Square. The Basilica is one of the most magnificent buildings I’ve ever seen and even as someone who is not at all religious, you can appreciate the thought and craftsmanship that went into it. The astrological clock right next to the basilica is also absolutely stunning, just as much so as the one in Prague, imo:

Getting dive-bombed by a flock of pigeons in the square was fun too. My life flashed before my eyes just for a moment. It was a humbling experience.

5. Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit at Palazzo Zaguri

Basically, this exhibit was a collection of Da Vinci’s drawings of the anatomy of the human body side by side with the corresponding plasticised body parts. Really interesting and not at all as gory as it sounds, which was really the only disappointing part for me, lol.

6. Fondaco de Tedeschi 

If you want a good view of the city without paying a fortune, Fondaco de Tedeschi is your place. It’s a fancy mall with a rooftop area that you can, by booking a time slot online, go up for free. 

7. "Get Lost”

I’m not really someone that enjoys walking around aimlessly but if you’re gonna do that anywhere, Venice is your place. Every street and bridge and balcony is postcard worthy and there are pizza and ice cream and just generally good food places everywhere. You’re bound to stumble across at least one authentic, non wholesale mask shop whilst you’re wandering, and although there’s something vaguely creepy about a load of these blank faces staring out the shop windows at you, some of the displays are totally bewitching:

The middle display is from the shop window of the place that made the mask for Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut which I thought was very cool!

8. Get a boat pass and visit Murano and Burano

As I said, on our last day we bought a boat pass (€18) and visited the nearby islands of Murano and Burano, Murano being the island famed for its glass, and Burano for its rainbow houses. Burano was definitely my favourite of the two; it was a buzzing place full of charming little stalls and shops and boats, and of course, colour. Plus, we even got some close cat encounters in there! Murano was pretty but a lot quieter and seemingly more spread out. The glass shops get a bit old after a while as most of them all have the same things in and so I think finding out where you can see a glass blowing demonstration or visiting the glass museum is a good idea if you are thinking of visiting.

9. Osteria Trattoria Al Nono Risorto

This was a super affordable little restaurant with a really lovely outdoor seating area, recommended by my friend’s mum. The service wasn’t amazing (they forgot about my friend’s pizza, lol) but I had what was probably my number one spaghetti bolognese of the whole trip here, and the garden was very pretty. Finding spots to eat a proper meal in Venice that aren’t going to charge you, like, €12 for the privilege of sitting down in a nice place is hard so I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Future Venice Bucket List:

La Biennale di Venezia

Lido di Venezia

St.Mark’s Campanile

Chiesa de San Giacomo

Gondola ride

Doge’s Palace

Punta della Dogana

Bugno Art Gallery

Palazzo Fortuny

Rome, Italy

Our final overnight destination, Rome was a lot more cosmopolitan than I expected it to be. I was so focussed on the historical side of things that I kinda forgot it’s a capital city and thus, is going to obviously be pretty commercial. Still, it’s strange to just be going down a very pedestrian street on a tram, turn to one side, and see the bloody Colosseum there. I’m not going to lie, by the time we got to Rome I wasn’t feeling my best and was physically pretty exhausted so I don’t feel like I got to appreciate it as much as I should have done; I ended up going back to our Air B&B a couple of the days, largely due to the heat. It was almost 40 fucking degrees! I was honest to god DRIPPING in sweat on the tram back at one point! But I definitely want to go back again, maybe some time when we aren’t feeling the effects of the planet withering and dying as much, and explore even more. Rome is undoubtedly a very cool place.

Rome Top Things to do:

1. Colosseum and Roman Forum

Before we went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, I kind of expected it to be something you looked at, went “wow, that’s cool”, and then moved on, lol, and I was low-key a bit pissed off that we were paying €20 to do so. When we did arrive, though, I was blown away by the scale of both the landmarks and how much there was to see and do there. The Roman Forum in particular went on for ages and there were signs regularly dotted about to tell you what it was you were looking at, what it used to be, and who built it, amongst other things; though I’d love to go back with a tour guide, it’s really not necessary. I can’t tell you how starstruck I was to see the foundations of a temple that Julius Caesar ordered to be built; the Romans have always been fascinating to me and I genuinely feel like I learnt SO MUCH on our visit. We booked a last minute whistle stop tour that got us in and out of both venues with allotted time slots, meaning that we couldn’t stay too long in the Forum, so I’d say if you can afford it, just go full out and buy skip the line tickets in advance. You could definitely make a day of it.

2. Fattori Ice Cream

From a really cute little independent shop near the Air B&B we were staying in, this ice cream was SO GOOD that my fussy-ass-self didn’t even mind that I’d accidentally picked a flavour with lemon in. It’s a bit out of the way but I’d say worth the journey, and there’s supposed to be a lot of good street art nearby so there’s non-food related excuses to make the detour too.

3. Vatican Museums and Basilica

Honestly, the Vatican is worth going to for the ceilings alone. Raphael’s frescos are some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, and if anything was going to turn me (to Christianity I mean, lol), it’d be them. I love contemporary art and on the whole find classic art to be a bit repetitive and same-y in its themes but some of the work that can be found in the Vatican is just an example of the level of passion and dedication and patience that can be found in so many pieces of the period and is something that I think modern art can occasionally lack.

4. Aventine Hill

You’d think that a spot with such a good view of the city would be absolutely mobbed but Aventine Hill is just as serene as this photo makes it look. Do-ably uphill, amazing place to watch the sunset, and heads up: I can’t think of anywhere more romantic to propose.

5. MamaEats

One of many lively restaurants in the Travestere area, I had (surprise, surprise) another glorious spaghetti bolognese here. IIRC, they also specialise in gluten free food which is very forward-thinking!

6. Travestere and Riverbank

As I mentioned, Travestere is known for its host of buzzing bars and restaurants, but one thing we didn’t know about until we got to Rome was all the stalls and activities down on the riverbank. Though it didn’t seem to be a year-round thing, there was a whole strip of amazing food places and clothes and jewellery stalls and even some kind of VR experience down there which I would definitely recommend checking out if you are in Rome for the summer months.

8. St.Paul’s Outside the Wall

A really beautiful Church both inside and outside that's lacking absolutely nothing of St.Peter’s Basilica except the queues, my protip for visiting St.Paul’s Outside the Wall is to WEAR SOMETHING COVERING YOUR KNEES AND SHOULDERS. I mean, I’d say the same thing for all of the Italian Churches, but specifically this one because they WILL force these blue sheets of tarpaulin masquerading as “ponchos” upon you and you WILL feel like a complete and utter twat. You have been warned. 

9. Street Art 

We didn’t quite walk far enough to get to the cluster of street art by St.Paul’s Outside the Wall, but what we did see we found easily through the StreetArtRoma app, which marks out the various murals and professional graffiti points around the city. I think a really interesting day would be to hire a bike or a scooter and use the app to explore those various clusters that are dotted all around the city. 

10. Largo di Torre Argentina

The site where Julius Caesar (yep, him again) was assassinated, but also the site which is now populated by a group of very cute, and also very friendly cats. We didn’t get to go in the daytime when the actual cat sanctuary was open but when I went down the steps to get a closer look at the site one of the evenings, several of them came to say hello! No offence to any Christians out there, but if there was one point on this trip when I felt I was truly in the presence of something greater, it was here. And they were furry and adorable. With whiskers:3

11. Parthenon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona

Basically, you gotta do all the big tourist spots. Yes, the Trevi fountain felt a lot like an overcrowded kids’ swimming pool, and yes, I did fear I was about to get yeeted into the fountain like a coin at some points too, but it is undeniably a very captivating sight. Along with the Parthenon, it’s a prime example of Rome not really being what I expected, because there’s no big clearing for either of them; they’re literally just slap bang in the middle of the street like they’re NBD, which is kinda wild considering they're hugely important pieces of history and architecture. Piazza Navona is very pretty too and a great place to sit down and get something to eat, even if it was just boxed pasta from one of the supermarkets round the corner in our case. 

Future Rome Bucket List:

Galleria Borghese

MAXXI Museum

MACRO Museum

Cinecitta Film Studios

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna

Capitoline Museum

Milan, Italy

We only visited Milan for the day as that was where we got out flights home from but I still really enjoyed it. I went once in 2018 and I think the appeal back then was lost at me, but this time I get it: shopping, lol. There’s also a lot of art and fashion museums which are a huge part of the draw, and of course, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle; I think if you’re a person with *ahem* a fucking shitload of money, that’ll be enough to occupy you for at least a day or two.

Milan Top Things to do:

1. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 

The oldest shopping mall in Italy and undoubtedly the most beautiful, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele might be the boujiest place I’ve ever stepped foot in. Sure, the shops are too intimidatingly expensive to consider even attempting to enter but they’re fun to marvel at and the general area has every typical high street store you can think of. Even the Zara in Milan looks like a fashion Haus inside! The same shop that in my local town centre resembles a jumble sale a good 50% of the time! So yeah, despite not having any money to spend and the fact that I was *supposed* to be on a shopping ban until October, I still like wandering around the area.

2. Novecento Museum

With several floors of modern art, interactive exhibitions (which you had to sign a RELEASE FORM to participate in), and an amazing view of Il Duomo upstairs, I really enjoyed the Novecento Museum. I thought it was going to a be a disappointing alternative to the Armani Museum, which was closed at the time, but it ended up being one of my favourite museums we visited on our whole trip.

3. Sforza Castle 

My friend that we met up with whilst in Milan (she has a flat in the city! I’m very impressed!) took us here and we sat down in the grounds for a bit, which was a nice way to chill out for an hour or so. There was a fountain out the front that people were paddling in to cool off too and there seemed to be several exhibits going on inside the castle as well if you did want to get a bit of background.

4. Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Via Cordusio 

The fanciest Starbucks I’ve ever seen in my life. Again, intimidatingly so. But if you like your coffee you will probs be in heaven.

5. Gallerie d’Italia

So me and my sister went here the last time we came to Milan and IIRC, really liked it. The modern art section was a bit sparse but the rest of the museum continued into some kind of grand old building and the usual stately home staples that I love were of course there in abundance: intricate ceilings, palatial stairways, opulent chandeliers, beautiful flower gardens, the place is basically a labyrinth of decadence and we lapped it up, lol. People being rich enough to own buildings like this? No. Them being open to the general public so we can go wild in them? Yes. 

Future Milan Bucket List:

Armani Museum

Navigli

Go in the Duomo

Barcelona, Catalonia

I’ve been to Barcelona about 4 or 5 times now and aside from Paris and London, there is no other European city that compares. It’s so huge, full of character and unique beauty, and endless things to do, that I could return probably about 10 times more and still leave with an incomplete bucket list. With stunning architecture, a laid-back coastline and bustling commercial areas, it’s a city with such a consistent vibe and sense of history. The only thing they could do to make it better? Take down the Christopher Columbus monument. Because having a giant statue of a man who facilitated the genocide of a whole country full of native people is a bit...yikes. Sorry, had to drop that in there. But on the whole I adore the place.

Barcelona Top Things to do:

1. CosmoCaixa

We didn’t actually go to CosmoCaixa on this trip to Barcelona, but we went a few years ago and it’s without a doubt, the coolest science museum I’ve ever been too. There’s information in Spanish, Catalan and English so most people can probably follow the exhibitions and even if not, there’s a whole interactive area with a load of contraptions that you don’t really need to understand to be entertained by. You could definitely make a whole day of it too; we went for about 3 hours and still only scratched the surface.

2. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

2 things!

Firstly, this is a portrait of Colette, the French novelist, which me and my sister got really excited about because we kinda stan after watching that Kiera Knightley film!

Secondly, and probs more importantly, the modern art section of Museum Nacional d’Art de Catalunya is one of the most ingeniously laid out I’ve even seen. With the sections separated into different eras of Catalonian art, it kinda reads like a whistle stop tour of the cultural history of Barcelona, and so not only did I see so many gorgeous paintings, I got educated af!  Also, the building which the museum is housed in, the Palau Nacional, is stunning. Plus, there are escalators most of the way up. Iconic.

3. Portaventura

It was my sister and I’s fourth time visiting Portaventura this year and it was as amazing an experience as ever! The park is split into different themed areas, kinda like Disney, and has everything from thrill rides to Sesame Street Land (which is low-key super fun). It has what is probably one of my favourite rides ever, Shambhala, and also randomly the best theme park food I’ve ever tasted. One thing I would say is that the accompanying park, Ferrari Land, isn’t worth the extra money as the queues are super long, and there’s only really one ride worth going on, which is basically just a replica of Stealth at Thorpe Park. Same goes for the neighbouring water park; unless you’re going to pay for express passes there, give it a miss. The lockers are €10, the queues are ridiculous, the wave pool didn’t work (not that the staff bothered to tell everyone who was just stood there waiting for an hour) and the “lazy” river is pure anarchy. Literally, kids half-drowning themselves for the lols, popping up under your rubber ring when you least expect it, and then being screamed at by their parents. I live for a bit of chaotic energy but that lazy river...

4. Visit Sitges

A small city on the coast about half an hour from Barcelona, I really cannot recommend Sitges enough. There’s a ton of cute little art museums, delicious restaurants, heavenly beaches (the waves are INSANELY GOOD! You WILL get knocked under water half a dozen times but you also get to watch it repeatedly happen to other people too and it’s great), and a fucking ridiculously hard assault course out in the sea that me and my sister tanked at, hard. There’s incredible food places everywhere but favourites are Pom D’Amour and Dino for ice cream and sweet treats, and Beach House, Big Al’s American Kitchen, and Soca for mains . There’s also a really prominent LGBT community, plus lots of bars, pubs and clubs. Honestly, if you’re going to Barcelona, I really recommend staying around here as you get away from the the majority of the tourists but can still easily get in to the city by train.

5. Walking with Gaudi at the Gaudi Exhibition Centre

A very cool, very interactive exhibition that dives into the life of Gaudi, his creative process, his projects and his influences. My sister particularly liked the replica of El Drac. Like, she for whatever reason thought it was cute. Named it. Made us walk up to Parc Guell to try and see it. Wouldn’t leave the area til she got a keychain of it. Sigh.

6. Passeig de Gracia

Down Passeig de Gracia, you can both wistfully gaze through the windows of the designer shops you pass by, and actually spend your money (too much in my case) in the high street ones. Best of both worlds, bby.

7. Casa Battlo 

So it’s on Passeig de Gracia, pretty much opposite the metro station, but I had to give it its own little bit because it’s my favourite Gaudi building. Kinda looks like something aliens would build, kinda looks like something that sprang out of the ground, but that’s pretty much what Gaudi did best. 

8. Park Guell 

Just a warning, Park Guell is VERY uphill, and we somehow ended up getting off at the metro station right at the bottom of that hill, only to find out once we got up there that you had to book a slot and that all the slots for the rest of that day were sold out. My sister didn’t get to see her dragon and I was pissed off that I’d just nearly busted a lung open and regretted throwing my inhaler away for 20 minutes straight whilst getting up there, but it was still a pretty good view and we did get to see a bit of the park. Moral of the story though is to obviously book Park Guell before you go. 

9. Sagrada Familia

We’ve never actually been in to the Sagrada Familia, again, because we’ve never thought to book it (I want to absolve myself of responsibility here since every time I’ve gone to Barcelona before this trip, I’ve been a baby and let my parents organise everything), but it is an absolutely magnificent building even from the outside. I would one day love to go in and go up the spiral staircase though, because it looks fucking terrifying and I’m one of those strange people who likes being scared every once in a while.

10. Buenas Migas

I’m pretty sure it’s a chain thing but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a focacceria, and maybe I’m just uncultured but...I got pretty excited. That being said, my sister and I both ended up getting pizza; it was as tasty as it looks.

13. Las Ramblas and Plaza Catalunya

The most typically mediterranean looking square you’ll ever see, Plaza Catalunya is the perfect place to stop off and get some tapas whilst you’re exploring Las Ramblas.

14. Mount Tibidabo

“I was backpacking across Western Europe, I was just outside of Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo”...yes, I got excited to go here because of the Friends reference (I’m a basic bitch who likes friends AND has other personality traits, smd), but equally so by all the adorable old-timey fair ground rides once we did get up there. It was a few years ago now, so I’m not sure exactly how it worked but I do vaguely remember it being a bit of a rip off in that you had to pay to ride them all individually, so it’s good to know that the view from the Church and the Church itself is more than enough of a reason to go up. There’s also places to eat on the walk down and plenty of ice cream and food stalls up there.

Future Barcelona Bucket List:

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)

European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM)

El Jardin del Gats

Port Cable Car

Carrer de la Neu de Sant Cugat

So, that was my summer! 100% the most eventful one I’ve ever had! I’d love to go back to every one of these places, at least for a day, and am so grateful I got to have this experience. I definitely missed home a lot and maintaining your wellbeing whilst out of your comfort zone is hard, I’m not going to lie, but I hope that a year from now I’ll be feeling even more adventurous. 

There are so many places in Europe I desperately want to go to, some even more so now that I’ve visited the country. Now that I’ve been to Germany, for example, I’d be really interested in seeing somewhere like Munich or Cologne, as they’re supposed to have a completely different vibe from Berlin. It also really inspired me to get back into Spanish and possibly even learn French. 

I don’t know if anyone who is going inter-railing will read this but if they do, feel free to message me if you have any questions. My friend did pretty much all of the organising so I’m not the most knowledgeable person ever but I will do my very best to answer! Similarly, if anybody has any recommendations of other places to go whilst in any of these cities, food places and art museums especially (lol), let me know. 

Thanks for reading!

Lauren x

[180abroad]

Day 144: Going East

Today, after two and a half months in (mostly) English-speaking countries, it was finally time to dive back into continental Europe. And we'd be diving pretty deep--all the way over to Poland.

After our last British breakfast, we took a taxi out to the Inverness airport. Our flight was at 10:55, and our host had recommended leaving at 8:30  to make sure we had plenty of time.

Back when we first arrived in Scotland, we'd thought that flying out of Dublin was as easy as it could get (not counting the Burger King incident). But Inverness was on another level. Checking in, dropping off our bags, and going through security took less than 15 minutes total. That left us plenty of time to browse the airports impressively stocked whisky shop and admire the airport's three gates. Not three terminals--three gates.

Our flight was with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and included a layover in Amsterdam. We were a little nervous about the layover because it would only be 35 minutes long. But the tickets had all been booked directly through KLM, so we figured that we could trust their judgement.

It worked out, but I’m not so sure about their judgement.

Our flight from Inverness actually left early, and we arrived in Amsterdam over ten minutes ahead of schedule. Which was a very good thing, because we were at the far end of one terminal while our next flight was at the far end of the opposite terminal. And half of the moving walkways were out of service. And we had to go through passport control.

There was a fast-track lane for short connections at passport control, but an attendant told us to go into the main line anyway. This wasn’t an Inverness or even a Dublin line–this was a major-international-hub line. After waiting in this line for about ten minutes, our mental math was raising red flags. We would have a hard time getting through the line before our flight took off, let alone getting all the way to the gate, which was still a considerable walk beyond the passport control desks.

Just as we were getting ready to ask again, another attendant came up and shouted for us to get over into the fast-track line.

Passports stamped, we speedwalked straight to the gate, bypassing several badly needed bathrooms, and only just made it to the gate at the scheduled opening time. If our plane from Inverness hadn't arrived early, we might not have made it to our gate even if we hadn't gotten stuck at passport control.

Luckily for us, our next plane was also late, so we had time to use the toilets and grab a cold beverage from a vending machine before hopping on the bus that took us to our plane. It was smaller than the plane we took from Dublin to Edinburgh, but it did have jet engines instead of turboprops–so I still count it as an upgrade.

The flight was smooth, and soon enough we were stepping out into Krakow's John Paul II Airport. We decided to get some Polish Złotys (pronounced “zwah-tes”) from the airport ATMs (or "Bankomats") before hailing a taxi from into town. We ended up withdrawing way more money than we needed--the interface had been designed to make it look like you couldn't pull out smaller amounts unless you looked closely.

As it turned out, we probably would have been better off skipping ATMs in Poland altogether.

I always imagined Eastern Europe as a very cash-based place, but that couldn't have been further from the truth--at least in Krakow. Everyone there seems to use credit cards for everything. Spending the 100zł bills that we'd gotten from the ATMs (worth about $25 US) was nearly impossible. Even at large grocery stores and tourist sites, the cashiers would just shake their heads and smile at us condescendingly as if we were simpletons trying to pay with rocks.

We eventually went looking for a bank or currency exchange that would break some of our larger bills for us and gave up after a frustratingly unsuccessful hour of searching. Two of the currency exchanges (or "kantors") practically laughed us out of the doors.

I have to admit that I got angry once or twice over this odd phenomenon. There are ATMs everywhere in Krakow. How is it possible that everyone is using them when the money they dispense is worthless?

It actually seemed like there was a shortage of small bills and coins going on. When I tried to buy 41zł worth of groceries with a 50zł note, the cashier was visibly distressed at the prospect of having to scrounge together 9zł in change. When Jessica managed to rustle up a 1zł coin from her wallet (bringing the change to a single 10zł bill), the cashier's face lit up with relief and gratitude.

All of this wouldn't have been a much smaller deal if my credit card hadn't stopped working back in Scotland. We never figured out why, but at some point my credit card's chip had gotten corrupted and slowly started working less and less reliably. By the time we reached Krakow, it had stopped working altogether. I eventually got comfortable using Android Pay at places that took it, but Jessica ended up making most of our in-person purchases for the remaining two months of the trip.

But all of that was still ahead of us in the coming hours and days. For now, we happily made our way to the airport taxi stand with cash in hand and got a ride into town.

The first thing that struck me about Poland–and I noticed it from the airplane window before we even landed–was the totally unique landscape. I’ve seen forests, farmland, and urban sprawl before, but never mixed together quite so thoroughly. On the 30-minute drive from the airport into town, we passed through dense forests, low-density farmland, and a wilderness adventure park. Even in the suburban periphery of the city, apartment blocks are separated by cornfields as well as vacant lots.

This patchwork aesthetic extends to the architecture of the old city itself. On any given street, the buildings form a mosaic that tells the long and turbulent story of Poland’s past, from the middle ages through the 21st century. Many struck me as ironically eastern European, with inward-sloping buttressed walls and steep, almost pagoda-like roofs. Others looked straight out of Renaissance Venice or Imperial Vienna. And, of course, there are the Brutalist mementos of Soviet austerity.

What holds it all together is a charmingly rough-around-the-edges spirit of making do with what you have. Concrete walls patched with plaster, plaster walls patched with plywood. Walking down an alleyway between two buildings, you might tread on tile, cement, and gravel all in the space of thirty yards.

But this is not a third-world country. Enter into one of these unassuming domiciles, and you might find a surprisingly luxurious abode.

Like ours.

Poland is not a wealthy country. But that means that a little money can go a long way. And while you may trip on a pothole or slip on a patch of sand outdoors, you can come home to a bathtub bigger than any I’ve enjoyed in the States.

The second thing I noticed about Poland are the people. They are both the most reserved and the most outgoing people I’ve met in Europe.

Professionally and in public, everyone is just a blank face in the crowd. Our taxi driver from the airport did not make a single attempt at small talk the entire ride (not that I’m complaining!), and shopkeepers have no trouble flatly declining to assist you if you ask for something they don’t want to do.

But if you engage them personally, as a friend, guest, or tour companion, you’ll have trouble getting a word in edgewise as they talk your ears off with kind enthusiasm, sincere questions, and thoughtful advice.

Obviously, this is a stereotype and doesn’t apply to everyone in Poland. But it’s exactly what Jessica–who spent a summer here in 2010–told me to expect, and it’s exactly what I’ve experienced.

Another funny quirk is that two of Poland's biggest chain stores are named after animals. The main supermarket chain is called Biedronka, which means ladybug, and the main convenience store chain is called Zabka, which means frog.

After checking into our Airbnb and stocking up on groceries, Jessica could hardly wait to take me into the old town. Rick Steves says there isn’t a better city in Europe for just wandering around in, and I can’t say I disagree.

The main market square is spectacular–like Venice’s San Marco Square and Madrid’s Puerta del Sol rolled into one.

The old Renaissance merchant hall dominates the center of the square, and St. Mary’s Basilica stands proudly overlooking its northern corner.

Technically, the church only has one tower. The taller tower on the left–the one with the crown encircling its spire–is officially a city watchtower. According to legend, a 13th-century watchman was struck silent by an enemy arrow in the middle of trumpeting an alarm. Now, every hour on the hour, a trumpeter plays the same traditional anthem almost but not quite to completion in his honor.

The curtailed call is also used by the Polish national radio broadcaster, so it is a familiar sound across the country.

After taking a peek inside the market hall and up at the nearby clock tower–the remains of an otherwise-demolished medieval city hall–we meandered up the main road to the barbican gate–one of the few remaining parts of Krakow’s medieval walls.

Unlike the many European cities that turned their medieval walls into ring roads, Krakow turned their walls into a green belt surrounding the old city center. Like many Polish names, it was unintentionally amusing to us as English speakers--Planty Park.

As we walked back down the main tourist drag, Jessica noted how much the place had changed in just the past eight years. A local café she'd wanted to take me to had been replaced by a Starbucks, and there were a lot more ethnic restaurants than she remembered seeing before. Though not all of them looked especially authentic.

Tired and thirsty, we headed back to our flat after stopping for drinks at a Zabka along the way. It was a warm night, but thankfully the windows were big and opened wide. As much as I had feared a culture shock, and our currency-related annoyances notwithstanding, our arrival in Poland had been surprisingly smooth. We were comfortable, well-fed, and excited to see what the city had to offer.

Next Post: Schindler’s Factory and St. Mary’s Basilica

Last Post: Resting Up (Markets, Museums, and More Pizza)

[travelinghobby]

All the British Airways flights cancelled today from UK airports OLD

All the British Airways flights cancelled today from UK airports OLD

British Airways has cancelled more than 100 short-haul flights to and from its main base, London Heathrow airport on Tuesday,. The Independent calculates 18 domestic flights have been grounded, including two round-trips to Edinburgh and Glasgow. A total of 86 short-haul international flights are cancelled, including three round-trips to and from Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Vienna. BA says the…

[newstfionline]

Thursday, July 8, 2021

California braces for another heat wave (Yahoo News) The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning Tuesday for much of California that will last from Wednesday through next Monday, the third potentially record-breaking heat wave over the last two months in a state racked by a drought made worse by climate change. Temperatures are forecast to reach 116 degrees in the valleys of San Diego over the weekend, and even higher in desert portions of the state. In the Central Valley, where much of the nation’s food is grown, temperatures are forecast to reach 111 degrees on Sunday, and Yosemite National Park could see temperatures of over 108 degrees for several days in a row, the National Weather Service warned.

Haitian President assassinated (BBC/AP) Haitian President Jovonel Moïse, 53, was killed in his private residence at 1 a.m. local time by armed assailants, amid political instability in the impoverished Caribbean nation. First Lady Martine Moïse was injured in the gunfire. Moïse had been ruling by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections and parliament was dissolved. Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed leadership of Haiti with help of police and the military and decreed a two-week state of siege following Moïse’s killing, which stunned a nation grappling with some of the Western Hemisphere’s highest poverty, violence and political instability. Inflation and gang violence are spiraling upward as food and fuel becomes scarcer, while 60% of Haitian workers earn less than $2 a day. The increasingly dire situation comes as Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 following a history of dictatorship and political upheaval.

Dutch journalist shot who exposed the mob (Washington Post) It was evening in Amsterdam when Peter R. de Vries stepped out of the television studio and into the downtown streets. Decades investigating cold-case killings had earned the silver-haired 64-year-old accolades and a reputation as one of the most famous journalists in the Netherlands. His career in crime reporting had also earned him death threats, but friends said he laughed off the danger. Shortly after leaving the TV studio on Tuesday, de Vries was shot. “He was seriously wounded and is fighting for his life,” Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema told reporters. “He is a national hero to us all. A rare, courageous journalist who tirelessly sought justice.” The Netherlands has one of the lowest violent crime rates in Europe. But its long shoreline, numerous ports and excellent infrastructure has made it a major hub for drug trafficking, and de Vries had been working against them.

Russia’s pandemic response (Foreign Policy) Russia is firmly in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic’s third wave. Every day, there are about 22,000 reported new infections—twice as many as during the peak of the first wave in May 2020—and more than 600 deaths. The new delta variant of the virus, which Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said is responsible for 90 percent of new infections in the Russian capital, has caught Russia almost completely unawares. Now, the campaign for parliamentary elections in September could make fighting the pandemic even harder, since the ruling United Russia party may be even more reluctant to impose unpopular measures like lockdowns.

Taliban Try to Polish Their Image as They Push for Victory (NYT) In June, when the Taliban took the district of Imam Sahib in Afghanistan’s north, the insurgent commander who now ruled the area had a message for his new constituents, including some government employees: Keep working, open your shops and keep the city clean. The water was turned back on, the power grid was repaired, garbage trucks collected trash and a government vehicle’s flat tire was mended—all under the Taliban’s direction. Imam Sahib is one of dozens of districts caught up in a Taliban military offensive that has swiftly captured more than a quarter of Afghanistan’s districts, many in the north, since the U.S. withdrawal began in May. It is all part of the Taliban’s broader strategy of trying to rebrand themselves as capable governors while they press a ruthless, land-grabbing offensive across the country. But the signs that the Taliban have not reformed are increasingly clear: An assassination campaign against government workers, civil society leaders and security forces continues on pace. And in areas the insurgents have seized, women are being forced out of public-facing roles, and girls out of schools.

Iran nuclear worries (Foreign Policy) Iran has begun the process of making enriched uranium metal, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported on Tuesday, a move which the United States called “an unfortunate step backwards” while France, Germany, and the United Kingdom said the process fulfilled “no credible civilian need.” Development of uranium metal was banned under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal due to its use in the core of a nuclear weapon. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative at indirect U.S.-Iran negotiations in Vienna noted Iran’s breach of the deal on Twitter while offering a reminder that Biden’s failure to lift Trump-era sanctions on Iran also constitutes a breach. Ulyanov said another round of Vienna talks and a full restoration of the deal was the “only way out of this vicious circle.”

Vietnam’s biggest city sees panic-buying over virus lockdown fears (Reuters) Anticipation of stricter movement curbs triggered panic-buying in Vietnam’s economic hub Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, the epicentre of its coronavirus outbreak, while media reported unrest at a city jail where dozens of inmates were infected. The health ministry said outbound travellers from the city of 9 million people would be subjected to a week of quarantine and testing at their destinations, a day after dozens of flights were suspended to control the spread. Shelves at the supermarkets were being emptied since late Tuesday, witnesses said, in preparation for tighter measures, as the country reported more than 1,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time.

Australia’s largest city Sydney locks down for third week (AP) Sydney’s two-week lockdown has been extended for another week due to the vulnerability of an Australia population largely unvaccinated against COVID-19, officials said on Wednesday. The decision to extend the lockdown through July 16 was made on health advice, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. The extension of the lockdown, which covers Australia’s largest city and some nearby communities, means most children will not return to school next week following their midyear break.

Ever Given: Ship that blocked Suez Canal sets sail after deal signed (BBC) A huge container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March—disrupting global trade—is finally leaving the waterway after Egypt signed a compensation deal with its owners and insurers. Witnesses say the Ever Given weighed anchor shortly after 11:30 local time (09:30 GMT) and headed north towards the Mediterranean escorted by tugs. The ship has been impounded for three months near the canal city of Ismailia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Egypt had demanded $550m (£397m). The vessel, with an Indian crew, is still loaded with about 18,300 containers. It is due to undergo safety checks at Port Said before sailing to Rotterdam in the Netherlands and then to the UK port of Felixstowe where it will offload its containers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Khalid bin Salman Gets Quiet Washington Welcome (Foreign Policy) Prince Khalid bin Salman, the son of Saudi King Salman and brother of Crown Prince Mohammed, meets with State Department officials today on a trip to Washington that the White House would rather not talk about. Prince Khalid’s visit was not publicly announced by either U.S. or Saudi officials, and is the highest profile visit by a Saudi official since the Biden administration declassified an intelligence assessment surrounding the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad in Istanbul in 2018. On Tuesday he met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. As Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister, there is nothing unusual about a representative of a U.S. regional partner meeting with U.S. officials. However, the lack of fanfare underlines the Biden administration’s wariness in dealing with a government that then-candidate Joe Biden promised to treat as a “pariah” for human rights abuses, chief among them the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and critic of the Saudi government. Biden initially held true to his promise that “America will never again check its principles at the door just to buy oil or sell weapons,” when he announced a pause in proposed weapons sales to the kingdom; the decision will likely be watered down to a suspension in the sale of air-to-ground offensive weaponry.

South Africa’s ex-leader turns himself in for prison term (AP) Former South African president Jacob Zuma turned himself over to police early Thursday to begin serving a 15-month prison term. Just minutes before the midnight deadline for police to arrest him, Zuma left his Nkandla home in a convoy of vehicles. Zuma handed himself over to authorities to obey the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, that he should serve a prison term for contempt. Zuma, 79, was ordered to prison for contempt because he defied a court order for him to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his time as the country’s president, from 2009 to 2018.

[worldlifetimejourneys]

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[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/the-latest-distancing-rules-to-be-eased-in-seoul-area-national-news/

The Latest: Distancing rules to be eased in Seoul area | National News

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it will ease social distancing rules in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area following a declining number of new coronavirus cases.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told an online briefing Sunday that the greater Seoul area recorded about 80-110 new virus cases each day last week, down from 110-180 in the previous week.

Under eased rules that are effective from Monday for two weeks, Park says authorities will lift a ban on dining at restaurants after 9 p.m. in the Seoul area. They’ve been allowed to provide only takeouts and deliveries after 9 p.m. since late August.

———

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

— Trump’s virus debate: Project strength or level with public

— As virus rises in the Dakotas, freedom argument trumps masks

— From a stable job to a tent: A waiter’s homeless struggle

— Peeps holiday treats are going on hiatus — another consequence of the coronavirus. PennLive.com reports that Just Born Quality Confections says it won’t be producing the popular sweets for Halloween, Christmas or Valentine’s Day as the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based company prepares for next Easter.

— Oxford University says trials of a coronavirus vaccine its developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after a pause due to a reported side-effect in a U.K. patient.

— Antarctica is still free of COVID-19. Can it stay that way? Nearly 1,000 scientists have wintered on the ice and are getting a peek of the sun for the first time in months. Now the task is making sure incoming colleagues don’t bring the virus.

———

Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

———

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BERLIN — Austria’s leader says his country is seeing the start of a “second wave” of coronavirus infections. He is appealing to his compatriots to comply with newly reinforced rules to keep down infections.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced Friday that the government would reimpose measures such as an obligation to wear masks in shops to curb a rise in new infections. Austria recorded 859 new infections on Friday, the highest daily figure since late March.

Kurz stepped up his rhetoric on Sunday. He told the Austria Press Agency in a written statement that “what we are experiencing at the moment is the beginning of a second wave.” He added that developments in the capital, Vienna, are “particularly dramatic,” with the city accounting for around half of new cases.

Kurz said that Austria will soon hit the 1,000 per day mark. He called on Austrians to reduce social contacts, wear masks and keep their distance “as well as possible.”

He predicted “a tough autumn and winter,” though he stuck to his assessment that things should be largely normal by next summer.

———

PRAGUE — Coronavirus infections continue to grow in the Czech Republic, reaching a record level for the fourth day this week.

The Health Ministry says the day-to-day increase in new cases reached 1,541 on Saturday, a record high for the country.

Health Minister Adam Vojtech said “nobody expected” such a spike.

The Czech Republic has had 35,401 cases overall, including 453 deaths.

———

NEW DELHI — India has registered a single-day spike of 94,372 new confirmed coronavirus cases, driving the country’s overall tally to 4.75 million.

The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 1,114 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 78,586.

Even as infections are growing faster in India than anywhere else in the world, the number of people recovering from the virus has also risen sharply. The country’s recovery rate stands at 77.77% and nearly 70,000 recoveries have been reported every day in the month of September, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry attributed India’s COVID-19 recovery pace to aggressive testing and prompt surveillance, but experts say India needs to test more due to its huge population. It’s climbed to the second worst-hit country behind the United States, and is now testing more than 1 million people every day.

India’s Parliament is expected to resume work on Monday with strict physical distancing. Parliament adjourned in March just before a nationwide lockdown was announced to contain the pandemic.

The harsh lockdown caused a severe economic crisis, with India’s economy contracting nearly 24% in the second quarter, the worst among the world’s top economies.

———

BEIJING — Domestic air travel in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak, has returned to pre-pandemic levels, authorities say.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year and the city underwent a draconian 76-day lockdown as its hospitals struggled to deal with a tidal wave of cases that required the rapid construction of field hospitals to handle the overflow.

Since reopening in early April, life has gradually returned to normal and numbers of domestic flights serving the city, as well as the number of passengers, had both fully recovered, according to the operator of Wuhan Tianhe International airport. It said 64,700 passengers were transported aboard 500 domestic flights on Friday.

The airport is preparing to eventually resume international passenger flights to destinations such as Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Qu Xiaoni, an airport representative was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

International cargo routes have already re-opened connecting the major industrial city and center of the Chinese auto industry with destinations such as Amsterdam and New Delhi.

China has gone almost a month without registering a new case of local transmission and on Sunday, the National Health Commission reported just 10 new cases, all of them imported. Hospitals are treating 151 people for COVID-19 and another 357 people are in isolation after testing positive for the disease without showing any symptoms, the commission said. China has reported a total of 85,184 cases of COVID-19 with 4,634 deaths.

———

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A prominent Kentucky infectious disease specialist who was hailed by the governor as a “front line hero” has died after a nearly four-month battle against COVID-19.

Dr. Rebecca Shadowen, who tested positive for the virus on May 13, died on Friday night, Med Center Health in Bowling Green said. Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted Saturday that he was “heartbroken” to hear of her death and urged people to follow her advice and “wear a mask in her honor.”

Connie Smith, president and CEO of Med Center Health, said Shadowen “will forever be remembered as a nationally recognized expert who provided the very best care for our patients and community. She was a dear friend to many.”

Before contracting the virus, Shadowen led Med Center Health’s work in National Institute of Health trials of patients’ treatment for the virus, according to media reports.

Shadowen had said she believed she contracted the virus after an elderly family member received care at home from an infected caregiver.

“COVID-19 does not discriminate in its ability to penetrate our homes and communities,” Shadowen said when announcing in the spring that she had tested positive for the virus.

While battling the virus, she surprised members of the Bowling Green–Warren County Coronavirus Workgroup by joining in a conference call, telling the group: “It’s a great day to be alive.” She stressed the importance of wearing a mask in public.

In his social media tribute Saturday, Beshear referred to Shadowen as a “front line hero who worked tirelessly to protect the lives of others.”

———

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri has topped 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ coronavirus dashboard cited 1,974 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 101,134. The true number is likely much higher since many people with the virus go undiagnosed.

The state also added three new deaths. All told, 1,704 Missourians have died from COVID-19.

The number of cases in the state is growing at a rate faster than most places. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that over the seven-day period of Sept. 4-10, Missouri saw the nation’s sixth-highest number of new cases.

———

PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Health Services officials on Saturday reported more than 600 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 27 additional deaths as the state’s coronavirus outbreak continues to slow.

The additional 605 cases increased the statewide total to 208,128 as the death toll increased to 5,315.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations reported by the department continued to drop, a trend that began in July after the state became a national hot spot in June.

Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press showed drops in seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths over the past two weeks.

The average of daily new cases went from 537 on Aug. 28 to 406 on Friday while the average of daily deaths went from 41 to 20.

———

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada health officials on Saturday reported 414 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths, increasing the statewide totals to 73,220 cases and 1,439 deaths.

Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press showed seven-day rolling averages for Nevada’s daily new cases and daily deaths dropping over the past two weeks.

The average of daily deaths went from 488 on Aug. 28 to 299 on Friday while the average of daily deaths dropped from 15 to 9.

———

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Health officials are strongly recommending Michigan State University students living on or near the school’s East Lansing campus self-quarantine because of an outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Ingham County Health Department says at least a third of the 342 people affiliated with the university testing positive for the virus since Aug. 24 attended parties or social gatherings. At least one third of the gatherings were associated with fraternities or sororities.

The health department says in the three weeks before the surge, only 23 people affiliated with the university had tested positive.

The state has more than 110,800 confirmed cases and more than 6,500 deaths.

———

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The coronavirus pandemic disrupted college sports again Saturday, with Virginia and Virginia Tech postponing their Sept. 19 football opener because of issues at Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech reported Friday it had 219 positive tests among students and staff for the coronavirus in the previous seven days, putting its total infections at 633 since testing began Aug. 3. The numbers have risen steadily since students returned Aug. 24.

The school hasn’t been releasing athlete-specific results.

Virginia Tech won’t hold football practice for four days. No makeup date was announced for the game set for Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium.

———

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anchorage will receive federal support to aid in lessening the coronavirus outbreak in its homeless population.

There have been 168 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Anchorage’s homeless shelters and one death. Anchorage Health Department Epidemiologist Janet Johnston says about 100 of those cases are associated with an outbreak at the Brother Francis Shelter.

The city was assigned three employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The four federal staffers will help with on-site epidemiology, contact tracing and other management of the city’s outbreak.

———

HONOLULU — The federal Department of Veterans Affairs has sent a team of health care staffers to help contain a coronavirus outbreak at a veterans’ home in Hawaii.

Officials says 10 residents have died at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports most of the veteran home’s 74 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus after an asymptomatic staffer is thought to have brought it on site.

Sen. Brian Schatz implored the VA this week to help after asserting the home was understaffed and not equipped to halt the outbreak.

The federal health care team includes an infectious disease doctor, a facilities engineer, an infectious disease nurse, a safety officer, an industrial hygienist and a nurse manager.

The team will investigate infection control issues at the home and recommend procedures to manage the outbreak.

[passionate-baker]

An Ode to Florence

Friends, hi! 

It’s been a hot second since I posted any travel content & I thought we could all do with a bit of armchair travelling right about now, wouldn’t you agree?

Last September, Boyfriend & I went gallivanting through Tuscany on a quest to eat all the food & drink all the wine. Over the course of 10 beautiful days, we took seven different buses, two high-speed trains, and hit up five different towns + cities: Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, Castellina in Chianti, and Bologna. It was wonderful. 

This post is the first of a five-part segment about Italy & I’m so excited to finally share some of our trip with you!

Before embarking on our journey, we decided that we wanted to thoroughly enjoy everything Italy has on offer (wine!), and for us that meant taking the slightly unconventional route of public transport. We just didn’t want the hassle of rental cars or maps or potential fines for driving through the wrong zones etc. The public transport in Tuscany is somewhat less than perfect, but as long as you plan everything out in advance - and allow for delays - I swear it is totally do-able. I’ll be adding a ‘Getting There’ section to each of these travel segments in case you have any questions. 

I’ve posted about my Florentine favourites before - you can read that post here - so this post is somewhat light on new recommendations, but some spots are so good they deserve a second mention. What follows is more like a handful of notes that I’d like to tack onto my previous post, including suggestions on where to eat & drink, & which museums to explore. 

I hope you enjoy!

G E T T I N G   T H E R E

Here’s the thing about Florence: flying in from another country is kind of a pain, but getting there from another Italian city is a dream! These are the routes we’ve found to be the easiest over the years: 

fly into Bologna, get the local bus into the city centre, & take the Frecciarossa - high speed train - to Florence. Our deep-seeded love of Bologna weighs heavily on this route, but it isn’t always feasible due to flight times. 

fly into Milan Bergamo, get a bus into Milano Centrale station & take the Frecciarossa from there. We tend to avoid this option of late due to the sheer unpleasantness at Centrale station - pickpockets & general troublemakers etc - but sometimes needs must. 

fly into Pisa, walk/take a bus to the main train station & take a Frecciarossa from there. Perhaps the fasted route of the lot!

W H E R E   T O   S T A Y

Leonardo House  //  super cheap with an unbeatable location. Read more here. 

W H E R E   T O   E A T 

4leoni  //  I have no new words, just wow. I’ve said it before, but it literally gets better every time we visit. There are so many wonderful dishes - pear taleggio pasta! bistecca fiorentina! potatoes al forno! pecorino plates! the cheesecake! -  that you just can’t go wrong. A definite must visit. More here. 

Il Santino  //  we can no longer deny it: we love this tiny version of Il Santo Bevetore more than the main restaurant itself. The wine, the ambiance, the sharing platters - yes, yes, yes! Another must visit. More on both here.

W H E R E   T O   H A V E   C O F F E E   &   D R I N K S 

S Forno Panifico  //  owned by the Il Santo Bevetore crowd, this is a wonderful place for coffee and pastries. They only do filter coffee - with free refills - and the pastries are some of the best we’ve had in the city. Added bonus: everything is super cheap!

Gilli  //  never not good. The coffee is great & the pastries are amazing. We are especially addicted to their version of the sfoglia con crema - yum! Read more here. 

Caffe del Verone  //  our only new-to-us cafe of the trip. This one offers a great view of the Duomo. The drinks were a little bit out of our price range, so we settled for two ice cold glasses of sparkling water instead. 

Bulli & Balene  //  our no.1 choice for an Aperol Spritz or two! More on that here. 

M U S E U M S   &   A T T R A C T I O N S 

Palazzo Vecchio Museum  //  so unexpectedly great! We visited very early in the morning after a photo walk & loved every second! No idea what took us so long to visit, but glad we finally got around to it. The Room of 500 was worth the ticket price alone, never mind getting to visit the Medici apartments or see the views over the city. 

Loggia dei Lanzi  //  the home of my all time favourite sculpture, I simply cannot visit Florence without going to see it. You guessed it - more on that here. 

--

I hope you found the above somewhat helpful, friends! I’ll be sharing the next leg of our journey - San Gimignano - early next month, so be sure to check back. 

Vicki xo

T R A V E L   I N   I T A L Y : 

Italian Adventures Part I: Florence

Italian Adventures Part II: Bologna

A L L   T R A V E L   P O S T S :

Paris, France  //  Amsterdam, Holland   //  Copenhagen, Denmark  // London, UK i - ii - iii  //  Cork, Ireland  //  Edinburgh, Scotland  //  Westport, Ireland  //  Barcelona, Spain  //  Vienna, Austria  //  Florence, Italy  //  Bologna, Italy  //  Galway, Ireland  //  Kilkenny Ireland  //  Berlin, Germany  //  Munich, Germany //  Bremen, Germany  //  Lyon, France  //  Paris, France 

[wineanddinosaur]

Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns

If you waste your days trolling the same online whiskey forums where I waste my days, then between people futilely searching for Pappy and posting more of the same #bourbonporn, you’ll notice near-constant questioning about duty-free liquor shopping across the globe. “Anyone been through Cancun’s duty free store recently?” starts one post on a private Facebook bourbon group. “Dubai duty free?? Amsterdam duty free?? Friend flying back, would like to give him a few things to look for,” reads another. “Any good duty free shops flying out of Porto rico?” [sic] The wealth of misinformation from other commenters in these posts is as common as the misspellings.

And, while other drinks websites continually publish lists of “duty-free secrets” as reliable clickbait, they’re all mostly wrong, too. There are no real secrets anymore. “Travel exclusive” bottlings have mostly dried up, and so have strange American export releases. And there certainly aren’t rows and rows of “unicorn” bottles just sitting in some far-flung terminal somewhere in the South Pacific.

“In the Americas the variety is essentially uniform now across all duty-free stores,” says Henry, the anonymous business traveler behind the @thewhiskywalker Instagram account who may just be one of the most knowledgeable whiskey hunters on planet Earth. He tells me duty-free stores in the Americas and Europe, with rare exception, pretty much carry the same boring variety from the same five to 10 distilleries.

All you need to do to confirm this is to go to duty-free shops at almost any airport — all you will see are slightly cheaper bottles of Tito’s, lots of ugly gift sets, and the same middlebrow whiskey selection you can find at basically any liquor store in your neighborhood. In fact, there are very few opportunities to score anything special booze-wise while traveling by air these days.

That’s because duty-free is dying.

The Slow Death of Duty-Free

“Since the inception of my passion for whiskey, a passion that has taken me to many countries over the last six years, I have seen a dramatic turn in duty-free offerings,” says Ken Gordon, owner of Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Boston. “As a whiskey enthusiast, drinker and collector, I have noticed fewer and fewer unique whiskey offerings in duty-free shops while traveling abroad.”

Yet many optimists online refuse to concede to this notion, remaining certain that their next connection through O’Hare or Vienna or Cairo will yield something magnificent. Maybe that was true in the past, but I’m not even so sure of that.

The idea of tax-free airport stores began in Ireland’s Shannon Airport in 1947, and they began arriving in American airports starting in 1960. These stores weren’t designed to sell incredible bottles of scarce whiskey; they were created to incentivize shoppers by saving them a few bucks (saving the “duty”), usually around 20 percent off the typical retail price. But even during the so-called glory days of duty-free, there was never anything all too remarkable.

A 14-year-old duty-free price list that has been circulating around the “whiskey internet” of late confirms as much. According to the list, The Macallan 18 Years Old is a score at $62, and I suppose so is Remy Martin’s Louis XIII Trieze for $950. But aside from those there isn’t much to get excited about on a menu packed with cheap bottles of blended Scotch, Goldschlager, and Godiva Chocolate liqueur bottles. Nevertheless, today, duty-free spirit sales are a nearly $10 billion industry worldwide, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, so it’s certainly not “dead” in a money-making regard. It’s just dead to eager connoisseurs looking for something special.

“It seems like most offerings have been shifted by the distilleries’ marketing departments in an effort to attract a new whiskey consumer by offering NAS [non-age statement] whiskey, bottled at 40 percent to 46 percent ABV,” says Gordon. “In the process, distilleries seem to be forgetting about their loyal customers who search for age statements, cask strength offerings, and/or unique cask finishes in their whiskey. As a duty-free consumer, I look for bottles that I cannot find back home. The whiskey game for me has always been about finding that unique single offering that will never be released again.”

Alas, for Gordon and others, there are still a few gems left to look for.

Where to Keep Searching

If you talk to American whiskey hunters, the brand that most frequently comes up among duty-free desires is Blanton’s. While Buffalo Trace’s single barrel bourbon has become tough to find at normal liquor stores these days — and usually with a jacked-up price when you do see it — I can anecdotally say I’ve seen tons of well-priced Blanton’s of late when flying out of the U.S.

“If anyone needs Blanton’s there’s plenty at the Duty Free inside Atlanta International Airport!” posted a man on Facebook in May of last year.

However, the strictly exported and far more limited Blanton’s Special Reserve, Blanton’s Gold Edition, and the absolutely incredible Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel are simply not to be found at duty-free shops these days despite a lingering myth that they’re abundantly available, especially in some rinky-dink Caribbean airports. Buffalo Trace’s overseas partner Age International has confirmed to me that these products 100 percent do not make it to airports any more.

(As an aside, let me blow your mind with this incredible traveling hack: When in Europe you can order all these limited Blanton’s from Amazon. Just have them delivered straight to your hotel or Airbnb.)

In fact, it’s not just Blanton’s. None of the major American whiskey distilleries really offer any special duty- free products these days. Wild Turkey has its 13 Years Old, but the product has been moved around and is now mainly a Japanese and European release (and it was never particularly exceptional anyway). You see, as whiskey has become more and more sought after, many distilleries simply see no real reason to waste their best “juice” on rubes with rollerboards passing through Terminal C. Take the case of Nikka From the Barrel, which used to be one of the most savvy duty-free scores, coming in its iconic cubed 500-milliliter bottle — it has now become readily available in most American liquor stores.

The one area where there may be some hope is in Asia, according to Henry. “Duty-free shopping is not just a quick stop you make before catching your flight,” he says, “but for many [airports] a destination in itself. [Hong Kong-based] DFS and other duty-free operators in Asia clearly see the need for an above-average and curated selection for customers.”

Henry cites Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei as still being particularly good. During a layover in the latter city’s Taoyuan Airport last year, Henry claims the selection of single cask and independently bottled single malt was “mind blowing.” He saw a 30-year Caol Ila from Hunter Laing, 26-year-old GlenDronach finished in an oloroso sherry butt, and a 41-year-old Port Dundas for an incredibly reasonable $350.

Airports in Japan continue to reign supreme, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll just run across shelves of Yamazaki 25 or Hibiki 30 Year, though that does occasionally still occur. For many whiskey hunters like Henry, the crown jewel of duty-free these days isn’t even some unique expression — it’s the painted bottlings of different Suntory releases, which can sometimes be found in Asian airports if you happen to pass through on the days they hit shelves. These are really nothing more than the standard releases of stuff like Yamazaki 18 and Hibiki 21 in gussied-up packaging for exorbitant up-charges, though, admittedly, they are beautiful bottles.

On the other end of the Suntory spectrum, Mike Vacheresse, the owner of Brooklyn’s Travel Bar, always likes to score a bottle of Chita, Suntory’s under-appreciated single grain whiskey, when passing through duty-free. Though it’s not particularly rare, and certainly not expensive, it’s never been available in America, and it’s damn tasty.

“For me, picking things up at duty-free is not to get a better price on a handle of Johnnie Walker Black, no, no, no,” says Vacheresse. “I’m exclusively looking for whiskey that is not sold in the American market.”

Travel Exclusives Worth Seeking Out

While most brands aren’t stocking anything especially unique or interesting on duty-free shelves these days, Glenmorangie is one of the exceptions. In October 2019 Glenmorangie released an entire travel retail exclusive range, which included three airport-only bottlings: The Accord, The Elementa, and The Tribute. The range launched at Dubai International Airport and will be offered globally at duty-free this year.

“We love hearing from people who get to buy something there that’s ‘different,’ something they can’t get anywhere else,” says Brendan McCarron, the head of maturing whisky stocks at the Glenmorangie Company, who attended the Hong Kong International Airport launch in November. He refutes that duty- free offerings have been getting worse over the years, claiming that, at least in Glenmorangie’s case, they are giving customers exactly what they’re asking for: age-stated whiskey that is innovative, delicious, and limited.

Similarly, Laphroaig offers some fairly compelling travel exclusives. Vacheresse was a big fan of Laphroaig’s An Cuan Mor travel retail bottling, which was released in 2017. In the past several years, the brand has also offered such exclusives as The 1815 and Four Oak, which is matured in four different cask types. “Laphroaig is continuously releasing travel exclusives that sometimes end up in the regular lineup,” says Vacheresse, who also likes that many Scotch travel exclusives seem to come in liter bottles. “A kind of market research, I suppose.”

It’s no coincidence that these are Scotch brands, as the two major Scottish airports, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are still pretty solid for travel retail exclusive Scotch like Bruichladdich Octomore 10.2 as well as single cask offerings from distilleries like Highland Park and BenRiach, the latter of which Gordon scored while passing through Edinburgh Airport last summer.

Unfortunately, as whiskey runs drier and drier across the globe, looking at non-whiskeys may actually be your smartest duty-free move these days. Glasgow Airport has a massive selection of obscure European gins like Edinburgh Gin and Eden’s Mill that are rarely seen in the States. Similarly, tequila companies like Patrón have started offering intriguing travel exclusives, like their Lot 221 release, a blend of añejo aged in French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels that first hit global duty-free locations in 2018.

Finally, though, what duty-free has mostly become today is a rich person’s showroom. Major hubs like London and Singapore have become places where brands stock their most limited and most expensive offerings, hoping the millions of business travelers passing through might buy one.

“Lots of 30- to 50-year-old, super-limited bottles can be found in some major hubs behind glass or the counter,” says Henry. Heathrow has an entire Macallan store in Terminal 5 with bottles like the M Black Decanter for £5,500, while the World of Whiskies shops in four separate terminals currently offer such items as a Bowmore 1965 for £6,000 and Glenfiddich 50 Year Old for £10,000.

But, the reason duty-free might actually not be dead — and might matter more than ever very soon — is for the very reason it was started: to skip out on paying taxes. With the U.S. on the brink of President Trump imposing a 100 percent tariff on imported spirits and wines, soon duty-free might be the only place for Americans to find some of those prized Scotches and Asian whiskies.

It might also be the only place you can actually afford them, which could be the final lifeline keeping duty- free alive to big-time connoisseurs.

“So I wouldn’t say duty-free is necessarily dead yet,” says Henry. “But it certainly seems to be dying.”

The article Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/duty-free-travel-exclusive-spirits/

[johnboothus]

Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns

If you waste your days trolling the same online whiskey forums where I waste my days, then between people futilely searching for Pappy and posting more of the same #bourbonporn, you’ll notice near-constant questioning about duty-free liquor shopping across the globe. “Anyone been through Cancun’s duty free store recently?” starts one post on a private Facebook bourbon group. “Dubai duty free?? Amsterdam duty free?? Friend flying back, would like to give him a few things to look for,” reads another. “Any good duty free shops flying out of Porto rico?” [sic] The wealth of misinformation from other commenters in these posts is as common as the misspellings.

And, while other drinks websites continually publish lists of “duty-free secrets” as reliable clickbait, they’re all mostly wrong, too. There are no real secrets anymore. “Travel exclusive” bottlings have mostly dried up, and so have strange American export releases. And there certainly aren’t rows and rows of “unicorn” bottles just sitting in some far-flung terminal somewhere in the South Pacific.

“In the Americas the variety is essentially uniform now across all duty-free stores,” says Henry, the anonymous business traveler behind the @thewhiskywalker Instagram account who may just be one of the most knowledgeable whiskey hunters on planet Earth. He tells me duty-free stores in the Americas and Europe, with rare exception, pretty much carry the same boring variety from the same five to 10 distilleries.

All you need to do to confirm this is to go to duty-free shops at almost any airport — all you will see are slightly cheaper bottles of Tito’s, lots of ugly gift sets, and the same middlebrow whiskey selection you can find at basically any liquor store in your neighborhood. In fact, there are very few opportunities to score anything special booze-wise while traveling by air these days.

That’s because duty-free is dying.

The Slow Death of Duty-Free

“Since the inception of my passion for whiskey, a passion that has taken me to many countries over the last six years, I have seen a dramatic turn in duty-free offerings,” says Ken Gordon, owner of Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Boston. “As a whiskey enthusiast, drinker and collector, I have noticed fewer and fewer unique whiskey offerings in duty-free shops while traveling abroad.”

Yet many optimists online refuse to concede to this notion, remaining certain that their next connection through O’Hare or Vienna or Cairo will yield something magnificent. Maybe that was true in the past, but I’m not even so sure of that.

The idea of tax-free airport stores began in Ireland’s Shannon Airport in 1947, and they began arriving in American airports starting in 1960. These stores weren’t designed to sell incredible bottles of scarce whiskey; they were created to incentivize shoppers by saving them a few bucks (saving the “duty”), usually around 20 percent off the typical retail price. But even during the so-called glory days of duty-free, there was never anything all too remarkable.

A 14-year-old duty-free price list that has been circulating around the “whiskey internet” of late confirms as much. According to the list, The Macallan 18 Years Old is a score at $62, and I suppose so is Remy Martin’s Louis XIII Trieze for $950. But aside from those there isn’t much to get excited about on a menu packed with cheap bottles of blended Scotch, Goldschlager, and Godiva Chocolate liqueur bottles. Nevertheless, today, duty-free spirit sales are a nearly $10 billion industry worldwide, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, so it’s certainly not “dead” in a money-making regard. It’s just dead to eager connoisseurs looking for something special.

“It seems like most offerings have been shifted by the distilleries’ marketing departments in an effort to attract a new whiskey consumer by offering NAS [non-age statement] whiskey, bottled at 40 percent to 46 percent ABV,” says Gordon. “In the process, distilleries seem to be forgetting about their loyal customers who search for age statements, cask strength offerings, and/or unique cask finishes in their whiskey. As a duty-free consumer, I look for bottles that I cannot find back home. The whiskey game for me has always been about finding that unique single offering that will never be released again.”

Alas, for Gordon and others, there are still a few gems left to look for.

Where to Keep Searching

If you talk to American whiskey hunters, the brand that most frequently comes up among duty-free desires is Blanton’s. While Buffalo Trace’s single barrel bourbon has become tough to find at normal liquor stores these days — and usually with a jacked-up price when you do see it — I can anecdotally say I’ve seen tons of well-priced Blanton’s of late when flying out of the U.S.

“If anyone needs Blanton’s there’s plenty at the Duty Free inside Atlanta International Airport!” posted a man on Facebook in May of last year.

However, the strictly exported and far more limited Blanton’s Special Reserve, Blanton’s Gold Edition, and the absolutely incredible Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel are simply not to be found at duty-free shops these days despite a lingering myth that they’re abundantly available, especially in some rinky-dink Caribbean airports. Buffalo Trace’s overseas partner Age International has confirmed to me that these products 100 percent do not make it to airports any more.

(As an aside, let me blow your mind with this incredible traveling hack: When in Europe you can order all these limited Blanton’s from Amazon. Just have them delivered straight to your hotel or Airbnb.)

In fact, it’s not just Blanton’s. None of the major American whiskey distilleries really offer any special duty- free products these days. Wild Turkey has its 13 Years Old, but the product has been moved around and is now mainly a Japanese and European release (and it was never particularly exceptional anyway). You see, as whiskey has become more and more sought after, many distilleries simply see no real reason to waste their best “juice” on rubes with rollerboards passing through Terminal C. Take the case of Nikka From the Barrel, which used to be one of the most savvy duty-free scores, coming in its iconic cubed 500-milliliter bottle — it has now become readily available in most American liquor stores.

The one area where there may be some hope is in Asia, according to Henry. “Duty-free shopping is not just a quick stop you make before catching your flight,” he says, “but for many [airports] a destination in itself. [Hong Kong-based] DFS and other duty-free operators in Asia clearly see the need for an above-average and curated selection for customers.”

Henry cites Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei as still being particularly good. During a layover in the latter city’s Taoyuan Airport last year, Henry claims the selection of single cask and independently bottled single malt was “mind blowing.” He saw a 30-year Caol Ila from Hunter Laing, 26-year-old GlenDronach finished in an oloroso sherry butt, and a 41-year-old Port Dundas for an incredibly reasonable $350.

Airports in Japan continue to reign supreme, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll just run across shelves of Yamazaki 25 or Hibiki 30 Year, though that does occasionally still occur. For many whiskey hunters like Henry, the crown jewel of duty-free these days isn’t even some unique expression — it’s the painted bottlings of different Suntory releases, which can sometimes be found in Asian airports if you happen to pass through on the days they hit shelves. These are really nothing more than the standard releases of stuff like Yamazaki 18 and Hibiki 21 in gussied-up packaging for exorbitant up-charges, though, admittedly, they are beautiful bottles.

On the other end of the Suntory spectrum, Mike Vacheresse, the owner of Brooklyn’s Travel Bar, always likes to score a bottle of Chita, Suntory’s under-appreciated single grain whiskey, when passing through duty-free. Though it’s not particularly rare, and certainly not expensive, it’s never been available in America, and it’s damn tasty.

“For me, picking things up at duty-free is not to get a better price on a handle of Johnnie Walker Black, no, no, no,” says Vacheresse. “I’m exclusively looking for whiskey that is not sold in the American market.”

Travel Exclusives Worth Seeking Out

While most brands aren’t stocking anything especially unique or interesting on duty-free shelves these days, Glenmorangie is one of the exceptions. In October 2019 Glenmorangie released an entire travel retail exclusive range, which included three airport-only bottlings: The Accord, The Elementa, and The Tribute. The range launched at Dubai International Airport and will be offered globally at duty-free this year.

“We love hearing from people who get to buy something there that’s ‘different,’ something they can’t get anywhere else,” says Brendan McCarron, the head of maturing whisky stocks at the Glenmorangie Company, who attended the Hong Kong International Airport launch in November. He refutes that duty- free offerings have been getting worse over the years, claiming that, at least in Glenmorangie’s case, they are giving customers exactly what they’re asking for: age-stated whiskey that is innovative, delicious, and limited.

Similarly, Laphroaig offers some fairly compelling travel exclusives. Vacheresse was a big fan of Laphroaig’s An Cuan Mor travel retail bottling, which was released in 2017. In the past several years, the brand has also offered such exclusives as The 1815 and Four Oak, which is matured in four different cask types. “Laphroaig is continuously releasing travel exclusives that sometimes end up in the regular lineup,” says Vacheresse, who also likes that many Scotch travel exclusives seem to come in liter bottles. “A kind of market research, I suppose.”

It’s no coincidence that these are Scotch brands, as the two major Scottish airports, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are still pretty solid for travel retail exclusive Scotch like Bruichladdich Octomore 10.2 as well as single cask offerings from distilleries like Highland Park and BenRiach, the latter of which Gordon scored while passing through Edinburgh Airport last summer.

Unfortunately, as whiskey runs drier and drier across the globe, looking at non-whiskeys may actually be your smartest duty-free move these days. Glasgow Airport has a massive selection of obscure European gins like Edinburgh Gin and Eden’s Mill that are rarely seen in the States. Similarly, tequila companies like Patrón have started offering intriguing travel exclusives, like their Lot 221 release, a blend of añejo aged in French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels that first hit global duty-free locations in 2018.

Finally, though, what duty-free has mostly become today is a rich person’s showroom. Major hubs like London and Singapore have become places where brands stock their most limited and most expensive offerings, hoping the millions of business travelers passing through might buy one.

“Lots of 30- to 50-year-old, super-limited bottles can be found in some major hubs behind glass or the counter,” says Henry. Heathrow has an entire Macallan store in Terminal 5 with bottles like the M Black Decanter for £5,500, while the World of Whiskies shops in four separate terminals currently offer such items as a Bowmore 1965 for £6,000 and Glenfiddich 50 Year Old for £10,000.

But, the reason duty-free might actually not be dead — and might matter more than ever very soon — is for the very reason it was started: to skip out on paying taxes. With the U.S. on the brink of President Trump imposing a 100 percent tariff on imported spirits and wines, soon duty-free might be the only place for Americans to find some of those prized Scotches and Asian whiskies.

It might also be the only place you can actually afford them, which could be the final lifeline keeping duty- free alive to big-time connoisseurs.

“So I wouldn’t say duty-free is necessarily dead yet,” says Henry. “But it certainly seems to be dying.”

The article Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/duty-free-travel-exclusive-spirits/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/is-duty-free-dead-on-the-trail-of-travel-exclusive-unicorns

[isaiahrippinus]

Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns

If you waste your days trolling the same online whiskey forums where I waste my days, then between people futilely searching for Pappy and posting more of the same #bourbonporn, you’ll notice near-constant questioning about duty-free liquor shopping across the globe. “Anyone been through Cancun’s duty free store recently?” starts one post on a private Facebook bourbon group. “Dubai duty free?? Amsterdam duty free?? Friend flying back, would like to give him a few things to look for,” reads another. “Any good duty free shops flying out of Porto rico?” [sic] The wealth of misinformation from other commenters in these posts is as common as the misspellings.

And, while other drinks websites continually publish lists of “duty-free secrets” as reliable clickbait, they’re all mostly wrong, too. There are no real secrets anymore. “Travel exclusive” bottlings have mostly dried up, and so have strange American export releases. And there certainly aren’t rows and rows of “unicorn” bottles just sitting in some far-flung terminal somewhere in the South Pacific.

“In the Americas the variety is essentially uniform now across all duty-free stores,” says Henry, the anonymous business traveler behind the @thewhiskywalker Instagram account who may just be one of the most knowledgeable whiskey hunters on planet Earth. He tells me duty-free stores in the Americas and Europe, with rare exception, pretty much carry the same boring variety from the same five to 10 distilleries.

All you need to do to confirm this is to go to duty-free shops at almost any airport — all you will see are slightly cheaper bottles of Tito’s, lots of ugly gift sets, and the same middlebrow whiskey selection you can find at basically any liquor store in your neighborhood. In fact, there are very few opportunities to score anything special booze-wise while traveling by air these days.

That’s because duty-free is dying.

The Slow Death of Duty-Free

“Since the inception of my passion for whiskey, a passion that has taken me to many countries over the last six years, I have seen a dramatic turn in duty-free offerings,” says Ken Gordon, owner of Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Boston. “As a whiskey enthusiast, drinker and collector, I have noticed fewer and fewer unique whiskey offerings in duty-free shops while traveling abroad.”

Yet many optimists online refuse to concede to this notion, remaining certain that their next connection through O’Hare or Vienna or Cairo will yield something magnificent. Maybe that was true in the past, but I’m not even so sure of that.

The idea of tax-free airport stores began in Ireland’s Shannon Airport in 1947, and they began arriving in American airports starting in 1960. These stores weren’t designed to sell incredible bottles of scarce whiskey; they were created to incentivize shoppers by saving them a few bucks (saving the “duty”), usually around 20 percent off the typical retail price. But even during the so-called glory days of duty-free, there was never anything all too remarkable.

A 14-year-old duty-free price list that has been circulating around the “whiskey internet” of late confirms as much. According to the list, The Macallan 18 Years Old is a score at $62, and I suppose so is Remy Martin’s Louis XIII Trieze for $950. But aside from those there isn’t much to get excited about on a menu packed with cheap bottles of blended Scotch, Goldschlager, and Godiva Chocolate liqueur bottles. Nevertheless, today, duty-free spirit sales are a nearly $10 billion industry worldwide, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, so it’s certainly not “dead” in a money-making regard. It’s just dead to eager connoisseurs looking for something special.

“It seems like most offerings have been shifted by the distilleries’ marketing departments in an effort to attract a new whiskey consumer by offering NAS [non-age statement] whiskey, bottled at 40 percent to 46 percent ABV,” says Gordon. “In the process, distilleries seem to be forgetting about their loyal customers who search for age statements, cask strength offerings, and/or unique cask finishes in their whiskey. As a duty-free consumer, I look for bottles that I cannot find back home. The whiskey game for me has always been about finding that unique single offering that will never be released again.”

Alas, for Gordon and others, there are still a few gems left to look for.

Where to Keep Searching

If you talk to American whiskey hunters, the brand that most frequently comes up among duty-free desires is Blanton’s. While Buffalo Trace’s single barrel bourbon has become tough to find at normal liquor stores these days — and usually with a jacked-up price when you do see it — I can anecdotally say I’ve seen tons of well-priced Blanton’s of late when flying out of the U.S.

“If anyone needs Blanton’s there’s plenty at the Duty Free inside Atlanta International Airport!” posted a man on Facebook in May of last year.

However, the strictly exported and far more limited Blanton’s Special Reserve, Blanton’s Gold Edition, and the absolutely incredible Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel are simply not to be found at duty-free shops these days despite a lingering myth that they’re abundantly available, especially in some rinky-dink Caribbean airports. Buffalo Trace’s overseas partner Age International has confirmed to me that these products 100 percent do not make it to airports any more.

(As an aside, let me blow your mind with this incredible traveling hack: When in Europe you can order all these limited Blanton’s from Amazon. Just have them delivered straight to your hotel or Airbnb.)

In fact, it’s not just Blanton’s. None of the major American whiskey distilleries really offer any special duty- free products these days. Wild Turkey has its 13 Years Old, but the product has been moved around and is now mainly a Japanese and European release (and it was never particularly exceptional anyway). You see, as whiskey has become more and more sought after, many distilleries simply see no real reason to waste their best “juice” on rubes with rollerboards passing through Terminal C. Take the case of Nikka From the Barrel, which used to be one of the most savvy duty-free scores, coming in its iconic cubed 500-milliliter bottle — it has now become readily available in most American liquor stores.

The one area where there may be some hope is in Asia, according to Henry. “Duty-free shopping is not just a quick stop you make before catching your flight,” he says, “but for many [airports] a destination in itself. [Hong Kong-based] DFS and other duty-free operators in Asia clearly see the need for an above-average and curated selection for customers.”

Henry cites Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei as still being particularly good. During a layover in the latter city’s Taoyuan Airport last year, Henry claims the selection of single cask and independently bottled single malt was “mind blowing.” He saw a 30-year Caol Ila from Hunter Laing, 26-year-old GlenDronach finished in an oloroso sherry butt, and a 41-year-old Port Dundas for an incredibly reasonable $350.

Airports in Japan continue to reign supreme, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll just run across shelves of Yamazaki 25 or Hibiki 30 Year, though that does occasionally still occur. For many whiskey hunters like Henry, the crown jewel of duty-free these days isn’t even some unique expression — it’s the painted bottlings of different Suntory releases, which can sometimes be found in Asian airports if you happen to pass through on the days they hit shelves. These are really nothing more than the standard releases of stuff like Yamazaki 18 and Hibiki 21 in gussied-up packaging for exorbitant up-charges, though, admittedly, they are beautiful bottles.

On the other end of the Suntory spectrum, Mike Vacheresse, the owner of Brooklyn’s Travel Bar, always likes to score a bottle of Chita, Suntory’s under-appreciated single grain whiskey, when passing through duty-free. Though it’s not particularly rare, and certainly not expensive, it’s never been available in America, and it’s damn tasty.

“For me, picking things up at duty-free is not to get a better price on a handle of Johnnie Walker Black, no, no, no,” says Vacheresse. “I’m exclusively looking for whiskey that is not sold in the American market.”

Travel Exclusives Worth Seeking Out

While most brands aren’t stocking anything especially unique or interesting on duty-free shelves these days, Glenmorangie is one of the exceptions. In October 2019 Glenmorangie released an entire travel retail exclusive range, which included three airport-only bottlings: The Accord, The Elementa, and The Tribute. The range launched at Dubai International Airport and will be offered globally at duty-free this year.

“We love hearing from people who get to buy something there that’s ‘different,’ something they can’t get anywhere else,” says Brendan McCarron, the head of maturing whisky stocks at the Glenmorangie Company, who attended the Hong Kong International Airport launch in November. He refutes that duty- free offerings have been getting worse over the years, claiming that, at least in Glenmorangie’s case, they are giving customers exactly what they’re asking for: age-stated whiskey that is innovative, delicious, and limited.

Similarly, Laphroaig offers some fairly compelling travel exclusives. Vacheresse was a big fan of Laphroaig’s An Cuan Mor travel retail bottling, which was released in 2017. In the past several years, the brand has also offered such exclusives as The 1815 and Four Oak, which is matured in four different cask types. “Laphroaig is continuously releasing travel exclusives that sometimes end up in the regular lineup,” says Vacheresse, who also likes that many Scotch travel exclusives seem to come in liter bottles. “A kind of market research, I suppose.”

It’s no coincidence that these are Scotch brands, as the two major Scottish airports, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are still pretty solid for travel retail exclusive Scotch like Bruichladdich Octomore 10.2 as well as single cask offerings from distilleries like Highland Park and BenRiach, the latter of which Gordon scored while passing through Edinburgh Airport last summer.

Unfortunately, as whiskey runs drier and drier across the globe, looking at non-whiskeys may actually be your smartest duty-free move these days. Glasgow Airport has a massive selection of obscure European gins like Edinburgh Gin and Eden’s Mill that are rarely seen in the States. Similarly, tequila companies like Patrón have started offering intriguing travel exclusives, like their Lot 221 release, a blend of añejo aged in French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels that first hit global duty-free locations in 2018.

Finally, though, what duty-free has mostly become today is a rich person’s showroom. Major hubs like London and Singapore have become places where brands stock their most limited and most expensive offerings, hoping the millions of business travelers passing through might buy one.

“Lots of 30- to 50-year-old, super-limited bottles can be found in some major hubs behind glass or the counter,” says Henry. Heathrow has an entire Macallan store in Terminal 5 with bottles like the M Black Decanter for £5,500, while the World of Whiskies shops in four separate terminals currently offer such items as a Bowmore 1965 for £6,000 and Glenfiddich 50 Year Old for £10,000.

But, the reason duty-free might actually not be dead — and might matter more than ever very soon — is for the very reason it was started: to skip out on paying taxes. With the U.S. on the brink of President Trump imposing a 100 percent tariff on imported spirits and wines, soon duty-free might be the only place for Americans to find some of those prized Scotches and Asian whiskies.

It might also be the only place you can actually afford them, which could be the final lifeline keeping duty- free alive to big-time connoisseurs.

“So I wouldn’t say duty-free is necessarily dead yet,” says Henry. “But it certainly seems to be dying.”

The article Is Duty-Free Dead? On the Trail of Travel-Exclusive Unicorns appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/duty-free-travel-exclusive-spirits/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/190363885289