On the southern tip of Croatia’s Istria, you will find a lion missing his feet. The lion continues to watch over Pula’s Roman Amphitheater. And like that lion, I entered this part of Croatia without my feet. A bad hospitality experience left me immobile and yet courageous at the same time. I wanted to leave, however the lion within this redhead knew I couldn’t fault a place just because of one person. To let them ruin it for me would be more cowardly than courageous. Pula is home to some of the best Roman ruins in Europe. As the wind whipped me into a dizzying dance, I entered the town’s Continue Reading
In Search of Schnitzel in Vienna
It is so quiet you could hear my fork drop on the plate ever so lightly, that is, if I ever put it down. My waiter makes certain to place my Erdäpfel-Vogerlsalat, a vinegary potato salad with lamb’s lettuce, down in such a manner that I wouldn’t ever have to give my fork a rest. My dining companion tells me this is customary in Germany and Austria to place your fork in your left hand and your knife in your right at all times. Almost like dinner gloves, you wear these tools until the plate is clean. My plate tonight is a golden dream, a Viennese specialty, Wiener Schnitzel. The traditional Continue Reading
Szeged, Hungary Wishes You Were Here
A distant dyke collapsed and flooded the city of Szeged back on March 12, 1879, a town set up in southeastern Hungary. Ruining much of the city, Szeged received the help of its neighboring European countries to rebuild, redesign and resolve after such devastation. And like Szeged’s great flood, I was forced to resolve to change my plans to explore Romania. It just so happens Eastern Europe decided to freeze over for my visit. Szeged is mostly known for being a university town peppered with paprika and salami. The two edibles are praised in Szeged. And like most of my Eastern European trip Continue Reading
Trim, Ireland Wishes You Were Here
When I reach the last few days of a trip, I tend to look at these remaining destinations with finality. On my way to the Dublin Airport, I decided to spend that finality in Trim, a place where many spent their own end. The small town just west of Ireland’s capital used to be a major player in the middle ages. Elizabeth I even considered placing Trinity College here. Home to the county jail, ironically Trim was where you could say the herds were also trimmed and thinned. I check into my hotel just across from the Trim Castle, obviously the showpiece to this now snoozing town. The Castle Continue Reading
Milan, Italy Wishes You Were Here
The last place you will find me this time of the month is an indoor shopping mall. It is a place all should avoid for fear of being spritzed with the latest scent by a celebrity or for fear of being rundown in the parking lot by an SUV. However, the first place I found in Milan was just that, the original indoor shopping mall, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. What would become Milan’s idea of a shopping mall in the 19th century, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II opens up to a dramatic archway. Within a ceiling of steel and glass, you can still spot the heavens. It’s design takes on the shape Continue Reading
Cork, Ireland Wishes You Were Here
Driving into Cork, I noticed an abundance of high school students. And then, I realized I’m getting older. These are college students attending the University College Cork, home to around 7,000 students. Cork’s youth is apparent, even if a little more immature. You don’t sense age in this city, just pure youth and innocence. A good day in Cork begins at the Old English Market, with no connection to the wood cleaner brand. I am delighted to find not bottles of wood polish but rather stall after stall of random goods. T-shirts and meats, delicious fruit tarts and vegetables, the market is Continue Reading
The Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen Wish You Were Here
A few screams fill the cool night air of Copenhagen. My first time in the city, I was skeptical of its amusement park at the center. The Tivoli Gardens fill Copenhagen’s heart on more levels than one. You come here to be entertained, but strangely not in a kitschy, amusement park sense. The Tivoli Gardens have class. As I walk around Tivoli Lake, I take in what I believe to be this 8-hectare garden’s best attribute, its lights. While the space is made up of rides, restaurants, concerts and even parades on occasion, it is the soft glow of the Tivoli’s lights that make it seem the work of Continue Reading