No matter what lazy travel writers want you to believe, there’s no Chicken Dance at Oktoberfest in Munich. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, stop taking their travel advice immediately, lest you start looking like an arm-flapping fool everywhere you go. Instead, spend your Oktoberfest prep time (only a week to go!) learning these dances, which are sure to come in handy in each and every tent.
Julie
Austria: spa-ing it up in Sölden
Our first stop in the Ötztal was the recently-rebuilt Hotel Bergland in the mountain town of Sölden. Situated as it is in the Alps, it’s the kind of place that is full of skiers in the winter and hikers and bikers in the summer. After being welcomed with lunch in their dining room, we went on a tour of the hotel and then ended up at the top-floor spa for an afternoon of deep relaxation.
Austria: into the Ötz Valley
After Innsbruck, Scott and I split up to try out two different blogger trips that were offered to the conference attendees. How can you not love a conference that comes with free travel at the end?
I went for the Relaxation in the Ötz Valley (Ötztal) trip. We’ve been to this part of Austria before, but always in winter to ski. The Alps feel like a different world in summer.
Getting charmed by Innsbruck
Last week we headed to Innsbruck to attend a travel blogging conference. This little city nestled in the mountains absolutely oozes Austrian charm, so it was nice to have an excuse to go back. The old city center is full of pedestrian streets lined with shops and cafes, perfect for wandering around aimlessly.
Munich: my own private Tatort
If you find yourself sitting in awkward silence with a German, try breaking the ice by asking him about ‘Tatort.’ The mere mention of the show makes 9 out of 10 Germans’ eyes light up as their tongues trip over their lips in a rush to push out the words to describe how they have been watching it since before they were born and they never do anything else on a Sunday night ever.
From discussions such as these I had gleaned that ‘Tatort’ is a detective series kind of like ‘Law and Order.’ It has been on since the dawn of time (1970). Each episode takes place in one of a handful of cities, each city having its own recurring cast of local detectives. Germans will be happy to tell you which cities produce the best episodes, and some even schedule their TV viewing in advance based on the location of the episode on any particular Sunday evening. This show is loved.
So when we received a note in our mailbox explaining that they would be filming an episode of ‘Tatort’ Munich on the street in front of our building, we immediately understood the importance of the occasion.
When is the march to protest your slutty use of English?
Alas, the first Munich SlutWalk took place on Saturday and I missed it.
Read moreWhen is the march to protest your slutty use of English?
New York food porn: the vegetarian restaurants
Welcome to part two of my 2011 New York food porn. I got too hungry working on the first post, so I had to divide it up. Here are the vegetarian restaurants we sampled in the city in May, with my favorites marked with asterisks.
*Dirt Candy is a tiny little restaurant celebrating vegetables in all their glory. Each dish features variations on a single vegetable (even the desserts), and so many of them sounded good that we had trouble choosing.
New York food porn 2011
Scott and I get back to New York to visit friends and family about once a year. Well, we pretend we’re there to visit, but mostly we are there to eat. Here are some of the culinary highlights from our most recent visit (those marked * were my absolute favorites from this trip).
Munich: dragging our butts out of bed for the Kocherlball
The Kocherlball is one of those must-try-at-least-once-if-you-live-in-Munich kinds of things. This yearly event is a throwback to the 1800s, when the rich people of Munich were so mean that they only let their servants have free time in the wee hours of the morning, which is when said servants would meet up for some dancing and beer.
Read moreMunich: dragging our butts out of bed for the Kocherlball
London notes: food
With the exception of, well, pretty much anyplace in Italy, London is my favorite food city in Europe. Long gone are the days of tittering about the blandness of English cuisine; London restaurants are creative, varied, and plentiful. Here are some of the notable eateries from my last visit.